A chill wind blowing in this nation

To the editor: In the words of Tim Robbins, “A chill wind is blowing in this nation.” Slowly, insidiously, our rights and our freedoms are being eroded by our government. Our government is being eroded by the pernicious influence of the radical religious right. I wonder if that’s the way it began in Afghanistan. I wonder if anyone truly paid attention in the early stages of the Taliban takeover of their country. How did they come to power? By exploiting peoples fears, by forcing their beliefs on their entire country, by victimizing women, by persecuting gays? Sound familiar? We are already complacent in our country. There is no other explanation for how this administration could have been re-elected. But the ghosts of Vietnam are haunting us now - from Iraq. Civil liberties and women’s rights are being supplanted under the panacea known as “Homeland Security.” New Orleans is in shambles. Our environment is being prostituted to the highest bidder. Healthcare costs and oil and gas prices are creating a new level of poverty and deprivation. We are falling behind in education and professional fields. My generation woke up and said “Enough!” I wonder when my children’s generation will awaken from the stupor of reality television and computer games, and say, ‘Enough!” What will it take? Did their radar begin to go up when John Roberts and Samuel Alito were elected to the Supreme Court? How about when South Dakota’s governor signed the law banning abortion in that state? Maybe if Domino’s pizza founder Tom Monaghan has his way, and builds his Florida town that will be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles, with no place to get an abortion, pornography, or birth control, a light bulb will go on. Does anyone see the irony in us going to war to promote democracy and religious freedom in the rest of the world, as we embrace fundamentalism and a reckless right-wing agenda at home? This November, we can begin to close the door on this chill wind. We can take back our country and our freedoms from those who have hijacked them. That would be a true patriot act. Susan Miller Warwick