19 Jul, 2007 in
Uncategorized by
KevinP
praxistheologia.com
Look Up.A new executive order signed by George W. Bush gives the government the ability to seize and block property and material possessions of those who “Threaten stabilization efforts in Iraq.” This is defined as:
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
This is as detailed as it gets. If the government determines that anti-war protests, even non-violent ones, “undermine efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq,” as the partisan political engine is prone to do, then they can seize or block access to property.
This is, of course, an unpleasant reminder of the far reaching power our executive branch is claiming, but section five of the order is by far the most disturbing. Section five details the logic used by the president to rationalize the suspension of due process. Writing:
because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.
I wonder when the other shoe will drop? “Christians” blocking other Christians access to property and accounts for non-violently protesting the war. Details can be found here at the link below.
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq:
cmak | August 2nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm #
Hmm… interesting. It’s been said that all social norms behave as a pendulum. It appears we are beginning to reach the far left extreme of the current arc. Good? Bad? Irrelevant. Personal right and priviledge do not exist. Neither do the vaunted ‘checks and balances’ of our government. The manipulative and misleading standards of operation by our representative government ensure this by being purposefully obscure to the masses; who are too ignorant or nearsighted to even realize their plight. Our problems do not relate to one man, one event, or even one generation. The change has been gradual over the last several generations, and no party, representative, or official is specifically to blame. Nor is their any specific remedy. The pendulum will swing until it’s apex is reached, then it will return whence it came.
On a side note, it is such a shame to watch the current impact of the world on religion, especially the ‘noble’ practice of christianity. Instead of exploring and pursuing a personal commitment and understanding of our relationship with our make most would rather wield their beliefs as a weapon (even on one another as you stated), others cower behind it like a shield from life and responsibility, and for many more it is no more than a comfortable mistress; providing the needed comforts without any of the responsibility. Ah well. Go humanity!
P.S.- You know who I am. Can you make the deductions?
Kidogo | August 18th, 2007 at 12:20 am #
If you know him, why make him guess? Or do you just like taunting people in their private blogs?
I wonder at assumptions underlying the (somewhat disjointed?) argument Cmak presented. Primarily, he/she seems to think that social norms develop in some sort of vacuum, or, perhaps, a board room or the Oval Office. But our cultural norms are not the work of mysterious forces beyond our control. They are our own creations and, consciously or unconsciously, we as individuals (or in the Church’s case, as a Community) either go along with them or against them. Sure, you can talk about media blitz and social conditioning, yadda yadda, but if you’re talking about the forces behind culture, you’re aware enough of them to make decisions about how they will effect you. Logically, then, we have at least as much power over social norms as the have over us. We need only exercise that power, or choose not to and allow ourselves to be swept away by forces that we weakly claim are ‘beyond our control.’ It seems to me that ‘bending over and taking it’ is in opposition to and a violation of the life and liberation pronounced in the Gospel, the praxis theologia. Though perhaps this is a line of thought better suited to the post about intentional community?
“How did this happen? Who’s to blame? . . . in the end, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.” V, V for Vendetta