History Lesson
Russ Smith gives people a history lesson. It is an attempt - probably futile - to put some perspective on the most strident anti-Bush rhetoric fuming from editorials in places like the New York Times. Smith points out that today's educational system in this country is not teaching some of the important history of wartime presidents that would give a much needed sense of perspective on today's most egregious screeching.
The latest round of hyperbolic arguments offered by anti-administration partisans concerns the acquiescence of Congress to put off for six months any revisions to Mr. Bush's allowance of wiretapping of telephone calls that are suspected to contain discussion of possible terrorism.
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, writing in that magazine's current issue, claims that Mr. Bush has "betrayed his oath to defend the Constitution," and what's worse, from his point of view, is that Democrats were too politically frightened to oppose him……
……What's particularly galling about the inflamed rhetoric of Mr. Bush's detractors — doing exactly what they accuse him of — is that there's no historical context to the opinions. Public and private education has devolved to such a point that it's not surprising few people are familiar with President Wilson's actions during World War I, but it's disgraceful that supposedly learned journalists, professors, and politicians are either ignorant of his policies or conveniently choose to ignore them.
Wilson, a Democrat, was successful in asking Congress to pass the Sedition Act of 1918, a piece of legislation that made it illegal to say, write, or print anything that was deemed "disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive" about the government's involvement in the war.
Approximately 2,000 people were convicted of this new crime, most notably socialist Eugene Debs, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and later granted clemency by Wilson in 1921. If a president of Wilson's beliefs were in power today, one wonders about the fate of Steven Levitt, who, in the New York Times blog "Freakonomics" of August 8, asks the question, "If You Were a Terrorist, How Would You Attack?"
There is also the example of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans - most of them American citizens - during the Second World War. The loudest screeching from the left about being silenced and the trampling of the constitution is generally done on nationwide television or in national print media. Yet not one screecher has been jailed or silenced. Funny, isn't it. It's a good idea to try to keep some perspective in these things. Too bad most of this is not taught anymore.
By sam, Friday, 17 August , 2007 @ 1:34 pm
Why do bloggers get so excited about what Newsweek writes? Who reads Newsweek other than people waiting in dentists offices? And they are mostly just looking at the pictures. Who subscribes anymore other than bloggers looking for articles to be outraged over? Honestly, if it weren’t for bloggers, I’d never read anything Jonathan Alter writes.