The Department of Homeland Security released a new video on August 15, 2011 which depicts white Americans as terrorists. The patriotic citizen must report suspicious activity to the proper authorities to stop terrorism. Unfortunately for patriotic citizens, we are classified as terrorists by the DHS, Democrat politicians and even the vice-president.
Is the message appropriate? Yes and no. We have to be vigilant but we have to recognize who our enemies really are. This same form of propaganda was effective under Nazi Germany to control general population:
Fear and Secrecy in the Nazi Police State
Living in Hitler’s Germany characterized every aspect of what is often referred to as a “police state.” Everyday Germans were drafted into Nazi control and secrecy, often without realizing it. By employing fear techniques, few government agents, such as the Gestapo, were actually needed to control the masses. Such tactics involved normal citizens willing to spy on neighbors, teachers reporting on what their students may have said in class, and monitoring newspaper and radio usage.
Janet Napolitano initiated this “simple and effective program” last July. At that time, most of the effort was directed to airports. TSA agents still harass our grandparents and children instead of using effective profiling measures successfully employed by Israel. Using fear and ignorance to label patriots as terrorists divides the country and weakens our national security.
“If You See Something, Say Something™” Campaign
In July 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at Secretary Janet Napolitano’s direction, launched a national “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign –a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism and violent crime, and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper state and local law enforcement authorities. The campaign was originally used by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which has licensed the use of the slogan to DHS for anti-terrorism and anti-crime efforts.
Should our security efforts be directed towards a specific nationality, religion or race? Not in my America. Should our security efforts be based on common sense or should we let the government divert the threat to people supporting the Constitution? Look to history to stop the consequences of programs designed to turn us against each other.
David DeGerolamo
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