When Justice is Lost, There Remains Ritual

When Justice is Lost, There Remains Ritual
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Tomorrow, March 15th, I suspect we will see
the first arrests of political demonstrators
under the USA PATRIOT ACT's "domestic
terrorism" provisions. If not tomorrow, then
soon. Revocation of the Indymedia.org's
PayPal account provided ample warning of
the days to come, the days of the Bush Regime's
acts of political terrorism against its
enemies. Theoretically, we may never know
of the arrests. Perhaps people will simply
disappear in the days following the March
15th protests -- all "legally" done of course.

The Tao Te Ching advises in "38. Ritual":
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/ttcmerel.htm

"Well established hierarchies are not easily uprooted;
Closely held beliefs are not easily released;
So ritual enthralls generation after generation."

and

"When the Way is lost, there remains harmony;
When harmony is lost, there remains love;
When love is lost, there remains justice;
And when justice is lost, there remains ritual."

I find this teaching particularly helpful
in perceiving the true state of disrepair
of our nation. We have lost our Way, and in
steps, our national harmony, our love, and
justice. There remains only empty ritual.

We cling with great fondness to our rituals,
public and private. Our nation thrives on
rituals: our ritual Saying-of-the-Pledge,
the Flying-of-the-Flag, the Singing-of-the-
Anthem, and the Mandatory-Standing-Ovation-for-
the-President.

Our political leaders seem to love these
symbolic acts more than anyone else, though
they bear most responsibility for desecrating
the ideals for which those symbols stand. When
the House and Senate voted into "law" the
"USA PATRIOT Act" without debate, or even
a cursory reading, they showed their true
disrespect and enmity for another great
symbol, The Constitution of the United
States.

By other various and sundry deeds, including
an executive order allowing assassination of
American citizens suspected of terrorism,
the politicians hammered in the last nail
in the coffin of Liberty and Justice in
America -- in its present form political
form.

Nothing remains except to furiously debate
the legality of the phrase "under God"
in the Pledge of Allegiance -- and to
disseminate our daily dose of propaganda,
generally with a hefty dose of George Bush's
religious dogma.

More people enact a daily ritualistic Pledge
of Allegiance than ever stop to consider
its meaning and how little the Reality of
present-day America coincides with its fine
sounding promise: "with liberty and justice
for all." Our nation's children repeat
the Pledge by rote before they even know
the meaning of all of the words, but our
nation's adults hardly care whether they
are true.

"Liberty" requires freedom from arbitrary
or despotic control.

"Justice for all" requires fair, impartial
treatment for *all* people, and
determination of rights according to the
rules of law or equity.

Both of these *require* that words possess
commonly understood meanings in everyday
usage. Because the government both writes
the laws and with arbitrary capriciousness
determines the very meaning of the words in
their laws, we have neither Liberty nor
Justice. We have only Ritual.

* * *

In addendum I provide an excerpt from an
article about the Unconstitutional and
in my opinion, Despotic and Treasonous
acts of the Bush Regime.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1219-01.htm
Published on Thursday, December 19, 2002 by Wired News
Patriot Act Revolt
Cities Say No to Federal Snooping
by Julia Scheeres

Overview of Changes to Legal Rights
Some of the fundamental changes to Americans' legal
rights by the Bush administration and the USA Patriot
Act following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks:

Freedom of Association — Government may monitor
religious and political institutions without
suspecting criminal activity to assist terror
investigation.

Freedom of Information — Government has closed
once-public immigration hearings, has secretly
detained hundreds of people without charges, and
has encouraged bureaucrats to resist public records
requests.

Freedom of Speech — Government may prosecute librarians
or keepers of any other records if they tell anyone
that the government subpoenaed information related to
a terror investigation.

Right to Legal Representation — Government may
monitor federal prison jailhouse conversations
between attorneys and clients, and deny lawyers
to Americans accused of crimes.

Freedom from Unreasonable Searches — Government
may search and seize Americans' papers and effects
without probable cause to assist terror
investigation.

Right to a Speedy and Public Trial — Government may
jail Americans indefinitely without a trial.

Right to Liberty — Americans may be jailed without
being charged or being able to confront witnesses
against them.

— The Associated Press