Bring out Your Cows
Bring out Your Cows for Inspection or We’ll Submachine-Gun them!
Jalal Abualrub
Why do meat inspectors of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) need submachine guns? Have cows in America joined ISIS? Have America’s goats and cows become so dangerous, that meat inspectors need to carry submachine guns while interrogating cows and goats?
Why would the US Department of Education need submachine guns? Well, maybe I can understand why the USDE would need submachine guns noting the many cases of massacres students in America have planned and executed against other students and school faculty. But, why would meat inspectors need submachine guns?
For Sick Cows, there is America’s Homeland Sick-Urity Act
Ask G. W. Bush, the decider, and his uncle-boss, Dick Cheney, about their Homeland Sick-Urity Act that congress has been faithfully extending without the slightest attempt to review the specific laws attached to this act, to verify if they work and what impact these laws have on the American people, who Congress supposedly represents. This law has gradually degraded the personal freedoms of every American in the name of fighting terrorism, a term which has yet to be clearly defined. This law has allowed uncontrolled oppression of American Muslims the vast majority of them law abiding, peaceful citizens. This law has supplied police forces with weapons used in war, to control America’s streets. This law has wasted tremendous resources in spying on emails, phone calls, internet activity of millions of Americans. This law has created paranoia, ‘Islamophobia,’ and hysteria about the largest religion on earth.
A Case of the Right Hand Not Knowing What the Left Hand Does
Under the Homeland Security Act, tens of government agencies have been given almost unchecked powers. They all claim to work in the name of Americans, who pay their salaries. To serve and protect, so they say. Yet, most Americans do not have the slightest clue as to how these agencies work, what they really do, their budgets and how they spend their budgets, the real targets of these agencies, the degree of their true success, or what impact they have on the personal freedoms of all Americans. Nor, can any ordinary American name all of these agencies that supposedly strive hard to protect them. Surprise any congressman, any senator, any Supreme Court judge, any current or past cabinet member, even the current head of any of these tens of security agencies, and ask them this simple question: “Can you name all of the American security agencies?”
They will not know. They will need to consult the files first. They will not know why there are so many agencies, if each of them has its own sphere of operation or if they are redundant –at least partially, and if congress, let alone the American people congress supposedly represents, know how these agencies operate and if they are law abiding agencies as individual Americans are supposed to be law abiding citizens.
Who Are They?
In a country like the United States, where the government has consistently proved in the past and in the present that indeed, they are ready, able, and willing to overstep their authority and abuse their power, how can the American people trust tens of security agencies with such broad, almost unchecked authority? Most Americans have no idea what these agencies exactly do; congress does not really know all what they do.
It’s May Be Your Turn Next!
How soon would the tens of security agencies wait until they –again- start abusing their power and go after all Americans, whether Muslim (i.e., terrorist risks) or non-Muslim? The government of the United States of America has consistently proved in the past and the present the willingness to cross the limits, if there are any, to reduce the rights and freedoms of large segments of their population. The examples are numerous. Remember the blacks? Remember the Japanese? Remember the civil rights movement, and those who opposed the war in Vietnam? Remember the native inhabitants of North America? Now, it is American Muslims who are suffering unchecked abuse and religious and ethnic oppression, profiling, spying, intimidation, and so forth.
The American government has repeatedly done this in the past against entire segments of the American people, who pay their salaries, so who and what can stop them now? Snowden exposed horrific cases of abuse that have already been practiced by the American government through its massive security apparatus, directed against its own people and even against allies in Europe and around the world. Who would want to listen to the private phone conversations of Merkel, the German Chancellor? Who would spy on the private citizens of allied countries and on their political leadership?
Yet, sadly, many people in America are happy that these agencies are targeting, watching and abusing fellow American Muslims, most of the time without justification. However, they may soon discover that they have made a major mistake. They may be next.
What right does security agencies, congress, the American government, or the American people have to oppress a large segment of their society in the name of fighting terrorism? From their own experience with their own government, those who have no qualms about the American government discriminating against, spying on, profiling and literally oppressing American Muslims, do they not know that they may be next to feel the oppression of what they have created in the name of fighting terrorism? It happened in the past. It is still happening now.
As they have done in the past, the American people may discover the extent of abuse of power their government has practiced, then take a long time working hard to try and curtail the powers of the tens of security agencies their government, without directly consulting them, created to battle a perceived threat that has been exaggerated to the point of hysteria. The discovery may come soon, but, after what? After they themselves have had a taste of what they vindictively allowed against others, citizens like them, peaceful, honorable, hardworking, tax paying, decent, more so than other segments of the American society; they are the target of all this paranoia, just because they are Muslims. Is there any other excuse, other than their being Muslims?
It is the failure of western societies, again, to uphold the slogans that they have been faithfully, if boringly, repeating to the rest of the word about freedom of religion, equality, and the rest of the empty words they keep reminding humanity they have. When all these slogans were put to the test, the West, including America, again failed miserably.
Yet, the last laugh may surely be for the tens of American security agencies that, even while enjoying tax money Americans pay them, repeatedly and consistently use their unchecked powers to oppress a segment of their population, tax-paying Americans, most of whom have not done them or America any harm. Today it is Muslim Americans; tomorrow it’s you, the rest of America! In the meantime, make sure you immediately line up all the cows and goats you may have, so that the USDA submachine-totting armed agents may investigate, interrogate, even taste what your cows and goats are hiding.
Oct. 29th, 2015