If you don’t like reading the political stuff, you may rather read a cool story about Pac Man today. 🙂
I was talking with some friends about some recent entries, and the “Why don’t you leave the country if you don’t like it here” emails I’ve gotten. I was pretty upset, because I do like–no, I love–my country, precisely because we have a vested interest in keeping an eye on our leaders, and making sure that our checks and balances stay checked and balanced.
I’m upset lately, because I see the current administration trying desperately to unravel those checks and balances, and most people seem to be just fine with that.
So I have been trying to articulate why I think it’s important to keep an eye on government, and why it bothers me so much that there are now people who vehemently hate me because I’m exercising my responsibility as an American citizen and doing just that.
Well, each time I would try and compose my thoughts, I’d become paralyzed with frustration, because I just couldn’t find the words.
Fortunately, someone else has put them together, and she says exactly what I have been trying to say.
This comes from a friend of mine, who is a disabled veteran, and very smart person:
“It is our duty as responsible citizens to keep an eye on the government and to question them when we feel they are leading us astray. “We the people” have an investment in our country, and we must continually perform our due diligence to make sure our investment is not squandered or stolen. We’ve invested our lives, our freedom, the safety of our families in this country, and it would be foolhardy to let that go by unwatched. The founding fathers knew that governments could evolve into dictatorships, so they built safeguards against that into the Constitution. When those safeguards get whittled away, everyone should consider whether or not this is defeating the concept of a free nation that our forefathers envisioned. Everyone should consider how rights were slowly taken away in Communist Russia and Nazi Germany, until bit by bit, the nations became oppressive regimes. Everyone should consider how easy it is to justify temporary restriction of basic rights for the common good, and how this has often led to ruin in the past. I reiterate: it is not only our right under the First Amendment to question the government, but it is our solemn duty as responsible citizens of a free country to do so.”
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Hella yes, I remember when Pac-man exploded. And all the books to tell you exactly what pattern to take to beat the system. Bizarre. Takes the fun out of it.
Y’know, everyone has a love-hate relationship with their country. We’re all entitled to our opinions, and can’t make other people think as we do.
To each their own.
You’re still a badass. 😛
(and thanks for the Pac-man story)
Good job from your friend. We must be always vigilant. We can neither adopt a ‘Father knows best’ best attitude nor a baby kicking over the milk pail temper tantrum. Just because you speak against perceived infractions doesn’t make you bad. Are these infractions real? I don’t know, I am too far from the seat of power. But if you can get the word out, maybe someone who has more information can tell us. But the real deal is that we can’t ever let our internal squabbles prevent us from supporting our troops, be they military, fire or police, in their sworn duty of protecting us.
I think you’re quite right Wil to think that it’s a necessity for people to act as part of the system of checks and balances on your government. Governments in most Western countries have increased in size and complexity since the early 1900s to the extent that many of the in-built mechanisms enshrined in a constitution simply haven’t progressed with the times (certainly where I am, in the UK). Primarily, it’s up to Congress to keep an eye on pretty much anything the US government does. But if Congress has any way near the workload of Parliament, then they simply aren’t able to scrutinise the government effectively.
So, where the normal processes of checking on the government have weakened, it can’t be wrong for people themselves to act as a means of scrutinising the government. Civil rights have indeed throughout the course of history been undermined by governments, until the state eventually becomes totalitarian. This is very much an extreme result of this however, and in my opinion it is highly unlikely that anything similar would ever occur in the US. Where there’s always a possibility though, if people can act as a check on the government then it serves to strengthen the freedom most people take for granted.
Everyone shouts for free speech; yet when someone hears something THEY don’t like, it’s like “You can’t say that” or it’s wrong. Keep speaking your mind and exercising your right to comment on the Government. For all we know, those people who complain on the sidelines are probably wishing they had voice like you.
I read this quote in someone’s .sig, so now I pass it on:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president,
or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not
only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to
the American public.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
We do need to make sure that our leaders have us looking over there shoulder to do checks and balances, because if we don’t who will? The president is one lone person, and they are not perfect, sometimes far from it, and we as the people have had a hand in voting or attempting to vote against that individual there. In that respect it is important that we keep close eyes on that individual, because of he or she does more harm that good, then it is time to call for an impeachment. The constitution of the US was intented to protect it citzens and give us rights, and freedom of speech in on of the top five. On a related note, I was just horrified at the OSU students that were told they wouldn’t get a diploma for turning there backs, that is horseshit, pardon my french, but what the hell has our leadership done to over power us the citizens. I didn’t vote for Bush, and my origional dislike is growing leaps and bounds lately. That was my two cents! I may not always agree with everything you say Wil, (usualy not the case) but I respect your opinion either way.
Speak your mind and ignore the people that are pissy at you cuz they disagree. It’s your right. Thanks for the pac man story too. “Puck-man” hee hee.
Wil-
Don’t let them get you down. I totally understand how you feel about appreciating our rights in the US and wanting to preserve them. Frankly, if people don’t like what you have to say, they don’t have to read your site. However, everyone who reads your log loves that you are so honest and willing to share the fun, touching, sad, or even frustrating parts of your life with us. If nothing else, you at least offer us things to think about and no one should criticize you for offering food for thought. I for one was outraged by what happened at OSU and by a lot of the other injustices you point out. Having seen how the media failed to report completely on the events surrounding Bush’s grad speech, I’m glad you offered us some awareness about what went down. This weekend I am going to write a letter to OSU’s vice president and express my disappointment. Thank you for fueling my activism. And keep on saying what you feel, it’s your right, and let them tell you what they will (i mean fuck ’em all the same) and here at wilwheaton.net the first amendment can live.
brie
Wil,
Couldn’t agree with you more. If our leaders are willing to flagrantly abuse the power of their office, without considering the consequences to the Nation, it’s people and it’s principles, and we (as citizens of the most powerful nation in history) sit by apathetically and allow it, then we had better be prepared to suffer the consequences for our apathy.
This country was founded on the principle of a democratic society, where all people are equal. We are supposed to elect individuals into public office who represent the will of the people, yet we have the lowest voter turnout for elections of any democratic nation. We then complain when individuals who have no sense of morality or responsibility are elected into office. If we don’t voice our opinions at the booth, then we have no right to complain.
BTW – I fully support our armed forces. They do a terrific job of keeping our nation secure.
P.S. There’s a hell of a lot more people out there who feel the way you do about this topic than you may know. Don’t let the few who disagree with your sense of morality throw water on your campfire.
Rock on
now all i have running through my head is that sound he makes when he dies … bwownh bwownh bwownhwnh
The old “love it or leave it” is stupid.
Does anyone remember the Pac-Man cartoon? God, that was awful, the ultimate expression of degraded multimedia tie-ins.
I also remember, waaaaaay back in the ’80s, reading an article in some “cool” kid’s magazine at the time (“Dynamite”?) about “Pac-Man wrist” or “thumb” or “finger” or something like that, where people would have blisters and strains from playing too much with that balled joystick. One of the first documented instances of RSI. I remember at the time thinking it sounded pretty weak.
I always liked Ms. Pac-Man better; the levels would actually change, and the fruit moved around, which was far more interesting to me than playing the same level over and over again.
Oh my, I even remember the cartoon! Wow is it just me or where things so much simpler and happier in the 80’s? We could use a little of that philosophy today! 🙂
Bravo to your friend, Wil!! She is a very smart person! I completely agree with you about questioning our government. My high school gov’t teacher encouraged us to question every decision our gov’t made at that time(the 80’s). He taught us that it is our sworn duty to keep our gov’t in check. After all, they work for US, not us for them!
Your friend followed my “process of posting to WWDN” rules perfectly! She stated several points already made 10000 times, she made a comparison to hitler/nazi germany, and she is your friend! She does get one point taken off for not using the Benjamin Franklin quote about not sacrificing freedom for safety.
No one here thinks you don’t have the right to post what you do wil, it’s just your thought process and experience behind all the stuff you write.
Isn’t it funny everyone takes a hardline zero-tolerance view on civil rights here but when it comes down to actual acts of violence (terrorism), most assume that the probability of it happening again isn’t enough to warrant more aggressive policing? Just wait kids, just wait. The gates of hell are open, it just takes a while for the demons to all come flying out.
I’m sad to say I was one of those who didn’t really think about politics and the direction of our country until recently. And reading this site has been a large part of my reawakening to my responsibility as a citizen of this country. My thanks to everyone here who, in some way, has enlightened me. And thanks to Wil for being so open and honest — makes this blog so much fun to read!
I see Wil’s posse is becoming heavily populated with Vanessas. We’re a smart bunch.
Wil, those “leave the country if you don’t like it” people have missed the entire point of our country.
And, ya know, one’s political party has nothing to do with things. I’m a Republican and reading articles like this one really frighten me:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/762744.asp
This line alone is scary:
“Ridge called the creation of the Department of Homeland Security
I bet the Japanese don’t have a word for that little hop, skip, jump thingy you do when you realize just in the nick of time you are about to step into something nasty.
And no, I’m pretty sure Scooby Doo isn’t Japanese.
P.S.
You should not have to find the right words to defend your beliefs, and I find it sad that so many will say such harsh things to you because you actually think for yourself and don’t follow the crowd accepting the “Whatever the government does is right” philosophy like a drone. I respect your opinions and agree that we as citizens need to see that checks and balances remain in place and are working effectively to ensure the future freedom of our country!
If they can’t respect that, they need to look inside themselves as to why they are so opposed!
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilence.”
– somebody
PAC-MAN FEVER: the album? NO. WAY.
PAC-MAN … didn’t he spend his time in dark rooms listening to repetitive music and munchin’ pills … or was that me last saturday???
Pacman…I still love it.
Why are they playing Stand By Me…constantly on the premium channels…no compaints…just wondering….
well…tootles….
I am Batman.
I like what your friend has to say, Wil. But I’d add another dose of perspective:
It’s popular, particularly among the political left, to make out like these recent assaults on the Constitution are a Bush thing, or an Ashcroft thing, or a Republican thing. But the sad truth is that this is a transparent attempt to make political hay: NEITHER of the major parties gives much of a damn about the Bill of Rights. BOTH of the major parties, when they’ve had their hands on the levers of power in Washington, have consistently voted for bigger and more intrusive government, and thus for the erosion of individual rights. The Clinton administration was just as contemptuous of the Bill of Rights as the Bush II administration, as was the Bush I administration, as was the Reagan administration, as was the Carter administration. The two absolute worst presidents, in terms of naked assaults on civil liberties, were FDR (a Democrat icon) and Lincoln (a Republican icon).
It’s not a Republican thing. It’s not a Democrat thing. It’s a politician thing.
So what to do about it?
Employing our First Amendment rights to be critical of the government is an important first step, but it’s only a first step. People should take a look at the Fully Informed Jury Association (www.fija.org) and exercise their common law rights to acquit criminal defendants who have been unjustly prosecuted. They should exercise their Second Amendment rights, which the Framers guaranteed us as another hedge against tyranny: buy a gun, learn to use it safely and responsibly, and be prepared to use it to shoot thugs and miscreants. We should involve ourselves with organizations like the ACLU, the EFF, the GOA, and so forth, as long as those organizations pursue a narrow civil liberties agenda. And so on.
Preach on wil,preach on. Next Thing you know people will be saying the WWF is unamerican.(oops I mean the WWE)I don’t agree with everything you say but that’s why it’s great to be an American because we can agree to disagree. By the way I agree with about 80% of what you do say.
Keep it real
Josh
Preach on wil,preach on. Next Thing you know people will be saying the WWF is unamerican.(oops I mean the WWE)I don’t agree with everything you say but that’s why it’s great to be an American because we can agree to disagree. By the way I agree with about 80% of what you do say.
Keep it real
Josh
Those who say “Love it or Leave it” do not understand the basis of this country. When you speak out in protest, you are not protesting America, or the American way, but the policies and practices of those MEN who happen to be in leadership roles at the moment. If noone were to speak out, slavery would still be the American way. Segregation would still be the American way. I, along with all women, would not be able to vote. In fact, I would not be able to own land either. To be more to the point, if it weren’t for the great men that were our ancestors, there would be no America, we would be under the reign of the monarchy in England.
Stand up and speak out Wil, THAT is America.
Ahhh, I forgot to mention, I haven’t had time to read the Pac-Man article yet, but the Nixon Administration/Bush administration was very eye-opening! Thanks for all the information that you provide.
Wil, Damn right we should be keeping our eyes on them. We should be remembering all of this when it’s time to vote too. And we ALL should vote. Apathy is what lets them get away with things. Ever think about running yourself, Wil?
It takes true courage to stand up for a country you love, especially when your opinion is unpopular. You don’t have to love our president to love the USA, and personally I feel that keeping an eye on our elected officials is our duty as citizens. As Americans we have the right to make our voices hears, and it’s important to exercise that right. You can’t appreciate what you don’t use.
Wil, you have every right to your opinions, and you have a right (and a duty) to question/criticize your government. Don’t let those naysayers affect your self-confidence or self-esteem. If they are petty enough to flood your email with hate mail simply because you’ve expressed yourself on *your* site, why should you even give their opinions any credibility?
I admire your courage for posting your personal opinions on these issues. I didn’t comment on any of them earlier because I didn’t want to deal with the flames you obviously have been getting. My own lack of courage just makes my admiration for yours even greater. And I know I’m not alone. Just please don’t let these negative reactions make you doubt yourself or stop posting. You have a strong voice and it deserves to be heard.
It’s being able to question the leaders of our country without being put up against a wall and shot that’s one of the things that makes protecting our rights and not allowing said leaders to erode them away so important.
I’ve spoken with more than just a few immigrants from the Peoples’ Republic of China and I’ve studied their history. The government of China creates the general illusion that the it is the Peoples’ government, but when the people rebel in any way bad things happen. One man that I met was a geneticist and spoke out against the wrong things…so he spent several years in a “reeducation camp” and then was sent to the far reaches of China to teach high school level mathematics.
I’m also a veteran (U.S. Navy during the Gulf War period) and I took my time to examine what I was doing, in essence, and why I was in. In the end, America is about freedom of thought – everyone has a right to their own beliefs and opinions up to, but not including, the point that others are harmed by them (inciting riots, etc). Now, I detest Skinheads and everything they stand for but I’ll be damned if I support anyone trying to stop even them from forming a peaceful protest or communicating their thoughts on the internet (for example).
So to all of the audience who reads Wil’s page and thinks that he needs to move to Afganistan or that he doesn’t love his country – FUCK YOU. Question authority. I won’t make any slippery-slope argument saying that when you take away one right you will eventually lose others, but I will say that this is a country by the people…if you advocate the taking away of one right and it DOES lead to loss of others, you only have yourself to blame for not questioning your leaders and making an effort to do something about it.
We should always and never stop questioning the actions of the governing political party no matter if they are Democrat or Republican. This is why we live in the U.S., we have that right!
WIL WHEATON ..watch it!!! You are becoming the
“jimminy Cricket” of the web!!
But its a good thing..making people think..
even if it does include “puckman”.
WIL WHEATON ..watch it!!! You are becoming the
“jimminy Cricket” of the web!!
But its a good thing..making people think..
even if it does include “puckman”.
Looks like a pretty strong show of support for you Wil!
like i’ve said before…you’re not the only one that thinks these things….
I noticed on the petition you showed the other day, the first name was Michael Albert….
My brother in law works for him.
Not sure if you’re familliar with him and his magazine ‘Z’ or not…but it’s a pretty awesome mag, and website….a good place to get real information on what’s going on in the world….and a lot less ‘rah rah, explosions and ballons’ ala CNN
http://www.zmag.org
(ps. my bro’-in-law’s name is Justin Podur…check out some of his articles…they’re pretty darn good)
cheers folks….
Ignorance among people mutates the political ideologies within the governmental system. Respectively, the likable Wheaton addresses those flaws whom many ignore and so informs those people.
Pac-Man for President. Gotta be better then what we have now, right?
I have never written into this or any other website before but because of what you have posted latley I feel that I must say something. First of all I am a true proud Canadian. We value free speech as much as you, the americans, do. The only differace I see here is that as Canadians people don’t get quite as pissed off for saying whats on your mind even if some people dont agree with it. I think it is very important to keep an eye on our public officials who we have entrusted to protect us. A good debate about a subject is necassary to open up that debate and make sure no one group of peoples rights are getting trampled on, for those people who don’t want to take that approch this is fine, but don’t bitch when this go the way of the nazies. I e-mailed the story about the person being “escorted” out of the graduation for simmply turning there back and they were as out raged as I was. What I am trying to say in a nut shell is good job Wil, in keeping the dialoge open and free for both Americans and Canadians. Anyone who thinks this act is being unpatriotic does not know the meaning of the word patriot. (Ignore the spelling my dicinary was in the shop)
P.S. your site rocks.
Vanessa,
I just read the first article, and will read the second as soon as I can sneak it in. It scares me that we are going to have one agency monopolizing on protecting the country, able to screw up without being found out, and if they have access to all the FBI and CIA intellegence, they can also cover-up on a whim. It also amazes me that the deadline is 9/11/02 because you know it has to look good even if it is a shitty idea, wouldn’t want that anniversary to get here without some smoke to blow up people’s asses. That just makes me ill.
No Wil, you ain’t alone in this. We may be outnumbered but we aren’t alone. I personally have seen this as an opportunity to examine how our governmental “philosophy” is holding up. Particularly with respect to how we treat people who are not necessarily US citizens. If you read through the Bill of Rights, you’ll notice that all of the amendments refer to “People”, “no person”, “the accused” and so on. The people who drafted these basic rights saw these as basic rights that are fundamental – they should stand on their own merits. They belong to all the world, not just the United States. For example, the US citizens who were captured fighting for the Taliban. They are being tried according to US law regardless of what you think the status of their citizenship is. Personally, I believe they revoked their citizenship when they took up arms against their country, but to try them as if they had the same rights is not only appropriate, it is the only course open to us if we truely believe in the principles our country was founded on.
\soapbox{off}
I really get confused about this ‘with us or against us’ attitude that some people seem to have.
I love my country and I love America, but I am not an automoton and have my own views and beliefs. Just because I don’t agree with all government policy it doesn’t make me ‘unpatriotic’. I support Wil for what he has been prepared to say and how he is willing to ‘put it out there’.
If the government no longer has to act within its own laws then who exactly are the anarchists?
Just a thought!
Rock on, Wil me boy.
This whole discussion has caused both a lot of craptacular idiocy and a lot of thought.
Thanks for bringing it up, Senor.
I have been extremely concerned at the complete ease with people saying “Oh, it’s just a sign of the times.” with our freedoms slowly being taken away. How about honoring those who died on 9/11 as Americans (just like our soldiers/police/etc.) who died FOR our freedom? Yeah, over 2000 people died in that disaster, and maybe it was because security wasn’t tight enough or our FBI/CIA didn’t have enough information or whatever. But I rather live in a county where someone might have a possibility of enacting such a disaster than one where everyone has to lived in an enforced military state. Yeah, even in the 21st Century there is a price we pay for our freedom. Price in security, price in lives, price in hatred for cultures who don’t have the freedoms we do. But to stregthen our security to the point of taking away our freedom is EXACTLY what the terrorists were trying to accomplish! They wanted to strike at the freedom of America, and make us feel like they do. Yeah, we as a county banded together to mourn and seek justice. Let’s also band together to maintain our freedom!
Hi Wil,
Don’t you worry about the hot-headed good ol’ boys who make snap comments about love it or leave it. In my opinion, people who don’t or won’t understand the issues fling that kind of comment out as a way to end the conversation. In general I consider myself a supporter of this administration. That being said, I too am concerned about whether we are going to far in impacting the rights we so treasure. Spirited conversations are critical to the democratic process. Blind agreement would be the beginning of the end for our democracy.
I suppose the thing that annoyed me about your calling attention to the Bush speech was that you seemed to automatically assume it was the Bush administration that imposed that rule on the university. I didn’t see any proof of that in the articles I’ve read on it. Everything I’ve seen indicates it was the university acting on its own. When you take this approach it doesn’t take long for people to start dismissing you as a rabid Bush-hater who can’t think objectively.
And don’t forget: the effective protesters are those who not only fire up their audience to action but actually recommend a useful action to take.
Dude:
Don’t worry about those people that tell you to get out of the country.
What’s great about the United States is that people can voice a difference of opinion with out worrying about getting persicuted by their government.
You keep on keepin’ on and many American’s including myself will defend your right to it.
Personally, I love the United States and feel very privileged to live here. I also love our system of government, although I believe that some changes could make it better.(like more than two major parties)
Allan Koeberlin II
Wil,
For what it’s worth, I think the recent political entries have been important. They have really spoken to me and been some real inspiration for me and my husband. This is one of those times when I find that I haven’t been doing enough to stand up for things I passionately believe in. Thank you for helping me to remember that.
Hey fellow Americans…
Now what’s all this ruckus about not trusting your government? If y’all are in doubt then just trust little old me, Bushie Bush. Trust me cause I’m rich. Trust me cause my whole family is rich. Trust me cause the rich always has your best interest at heart. By being rich (especially being born rich) I am compelled to have absolute concern for all you regular folk. Trust the rich because who else is gonna provide you with jobs, homes, and a 401k plan that “in theory” will get you that retirement egg while making the rich even richer from the sales of all those funds that support those lovely 401k plans.
God bless y’all,
Bushie Bush.