The Age of the "Thought Criminal" is upon us

You can have your Jean Dixons and your Uri Gellars, even your Nostradomus. But as far as chillingly accurate predictions of the future, I think George Orwell was prescience personified.

Think about it this way: We have learned in the last couple of days that ordinary Americans with nothing to hide have been subtly changing their behaviors and subtly altering their habits, eliminating certain words from their search engines, text messages, instant messages, and even phone conversations.

To consciously change how we communicate requires that we undergo a change in our thought process when we intentionally change behaviors. I find that frightening and ominous, because it is motivated by fear. Fear of our government, fear of the very entity that is supposed to make us feel safe.

Hell, they justify infringing our freedoms under the banner of protecting those very freedoms. Orwellian doublespeak at it's very finest, wouldn't you say?

And speaking of fear, I am disgusted with the way this nation is caving in to fear, a decidedly un-american trait. Most of us are decendants of people who left their homes and families and crossed an inhospitable ocean in rickety sailing ships that had no amenities. Most came here with just the clothes on their backs and a dream of a better life. They came to a foreign land, many not speaking the language. But off they sailed anyway, many would never see their natal families again, many would die before they saw the new world.

Those who made it here and found that better life did not persevere through fear and dependency. They persevered through grit, guts, determination, and back-breaking labor.

In closing, I am going to go to the well once more and draw on my husbands career in the Air Force, because I think everyone should know why he chose to spend his career in service to the American people: "I did not do what I did for any flag or jingoistic ideal. I did what I did for the American people - all of them - regardless of race creed, economic status, or political affiliation. I did what I did to protect the constitution for the citizens of this country. I feel the constitution is so important that I was willing to forgo its protections for myself in order to protect it for the rest of my countrymen."

Pardon me for touting my spouse yet again, but I am (justifiably) proud of him, and still, 25 years later, I am still awed by the honor and integrity and selflessness that he exhibits every day of his life. (I married well.)

It is a personal affront to all of the men and women like my husband, who served for all the right reasons, opting to forgo their own rights to protect yours and mine.

C'mon America! Remember where you came from! Get a backbone transplant! Grow a set! And remind the government just who exactly is in charge (at least for now.)

So hurry up and cowboy up - for liberties sake.