AFS Cinema
What's Between the Lines?
RECEIVED Mon., Jan. 30, 2012
Dear Editor,
I’ve just finished reading “Letters at 3AM: NDAA: Obama's Betrayal” [Jan. 27]. You have to understand that I am one of the many who was hooked by the hope held out to heal this nation. I believed that as president, Obama would never preemptively strike another nation. Now, I believe that what has taken place is a preemptive strike on the individual U.S. citizen – me, you, all of us. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that the commander-in-chief and the military need all the tools necessary to protect us against the evils we face today. It’s just that the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act sounds like a frightening way to justify any action based on hearsay. The vague and undefined terms used in that act are tantamount to tyranny of the most despicable type – actions or legal proceedings couched in the palliative that "We know what is best and this needs to be done for the protection of everyone." Yes, if you have not already guessed, I am most concerned because there is one term that has consistently been used to describe me over my whole life: belligerent. I’ve never worried about being arrested. I’m not violent. I’ve never worried about needing legal advice or protection. I’m always looking for the common ground. In all my wanderings and adventures and relationships and careers and creative acts, at some point someone recognizes the heart of my energy, driving force, or psyche as belligerent. It’s true, but I am a loyal and true friend. I’m funny and artistic. I make handmade flour tortillas that soothe the soul. But I am unabashedly, notoriously, cosmically belligerent. I am concerned for my safety for the first time in my life. And that concern is about what my own government might do to me. Maybe I should look at this in a more positive and hopeful way. Since the NDAA mentions the new power the president and the military have to transfer American citizens to a foreign country, do you think I might get transferred to Bora Bora or Denmark? I would love to live on a beach and I’ve heard the Danes are quite happy, so those would be my Top 2 choices. Although, I don’t see that the NDAA makes any mention of choice, but maybe it’s there between the lines since there is so much in that new law that is open to interpretation.
I’ve just finished reading “Letters at 3AM: NDAA: Obama's Betrayal” [Jan. 27]. You have to understand that I am one of the many who was hooked by the hope held out to heal this nation. I believed that as president, Obama would never preemptively strike another nation. Now, I believe that what has taken place is a preemptive strike on the individual U.S. citizen – me, you, all of us. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that the commander-in-chief and the military need all the tools necessary to protect us against the evils we face today. It’s just that the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act sounds like a frightening way to justify any action based on hearsay. The vague and undefined terms used in that act are tantamount to tyranny of the most despicable type – actions or legal proceedings couched in the palliative that "We know what is best and this needs to be done for the protection of everyone." Yes, if you have not already guessed, I am most concerned because there is one term that has consistently been used to describe me over my whole life: belligerent. I’ve never worried about being arrested. I’m not violent. I’ve never worried about needing legal advice or protection. I’m always looking for the common ground. In all my wanderings and adventures and relationships and careers and creative acts, at some point someone recognizes the heart of my energy, driving force, or psyche as belligerent. It’s true, but I am a loyal and true friend. I’m funny and artistic. I make handmade flour tortillas that soothe the soul. But I am unabashedly, notoriously, cosmically belligerent. I am concerned for my safety for the first time in my life. And that concern is about what my own government might do to me. Maybe I should look at this in a more positive and hopeful way. Since the NDAA mentions the new power the president and the military have to transfer American citizens to a foreign country, do you think I might get transferred to Bora Bora or Denmark? I would love to live on a beach and I’ve heard the Danes are quite happy, so those would be my Top 2 choices. Although, I don’t see that the NDAA makes any mention of choice, but maybe it’s there between the lines since there is so much in that new law that is open to interpretation.
Sincerely,
Max Gallegos
Max Gallegos
