WE THE PEOPLE, WHERE ARE YOU

I can remember a time when people in the US could pretty much do what ever they wanted to within reason. They could gather together in a public park to hear some candidate for what ever give a speech, or some group could have a singing , or even to protest, or rally for women's rights. In the days of the 'flower child' they could stand on the corner handing out leaflets. You could safely picket a place of business because that was your right. And oh yes, let us not forget that a women's body and being gay was no ones business but their own.

These things are no longer true. They are easier said then done. A speech in the park or even a singing or a protest , you may have to get a permit. Handing out leaflets , well you just might be chased away as a vagrant or a menace. And if you're factory goes on strike, You might want to think twice about picketing. Other then the fact that you just might not get your job back , someone just might come along and throw a brick at your head, then you'll be out of a job and have a hospital bill to boot. Picketing has never been the safest thing, but it used to be a somewhat protected right. Where I live the unions here are not very strong and picketing is a very dangerous thing.

As for a women's body and being gay -- well now it seems to be everybody's else's business but their own.

I can also remember a time when you could not search a person or their vehicle without just cause directed at that particular person. Boy are those days gone. Now you may be driving along minding your own business only to come upon a road block randomly set up for the sole purpose of stopping every single vehicle and searching it with or without your permission.
This use to be a huge invasion of your rights. So what went wrong.

And let us not criticize a high official or heaven forbid the president to harshly, You may be tagged by the FBI as a person to be watched. You're phone could be tapped right now. Someone could be listening to every dirty little thing that you ever told your best friend.
How good does that feel?

Excuse me -- but where are my rights? When did somebody tear up that document that says I have rights and flush it down the toilet???

This is the USA is it not, so when was it , who was it, that decided they should interfere with free enterprise and tell restaurants what they should and should not serve and me what I should and should not eat.
My point is -- little by little our rights are being taken away. Our boundaries are becoming smaller and smaller, our restrictions are becoming wider and wider. What's next?

I'm beginning to wonder how much longer before we can no longer call ourselves a democracy.
Perhaps I shouldn't complain, we do, after all, have more freedom then most. Should we consider ourselves lucky and leave it at that or do we have the right to long for the unrestricted kind of freedom that our parents and their parents fought for. And if we continue to allow these changes , what kind of freedom will be left for our children??

How many more amendments to the constitution will we allow, before we have no constitution at all?

I for one feel that we are on the borderline of losing it all. Where are my rights if I am minding my own business happily on my way somewhere ,and get stopped and searched when I am not under suspicion for anything and please don't bother telling me that this has helped to catch a lot of bad guys either, I'm sure it has, but they will catch those bad guys anyway without invading my privacy or interrupting my day. I highly resent it. It is unnecessary and just one more of what used to be my rights , taken away from me.

So where have we gone wrong?

I think one problem might be that to many people that could make a difference don't bother to vote. I have a friend that I sometimes go to lunch with and her and her husband both have never voted in their life . Not even in local things in this little town such as for mayor or sheriff. Never ever even registered.
This is a sore point between us because she always complains about our local officials and we have argued many times about the fact that if she would vote maybe that person wouldn't be in office, but it's like butting my head against a brick wall.
One day we were sitting in this little booth and this man in the next booth started talking to us and complaining about some local official and I asked who he had voted for and he replied nobody, I didn't vote. My friends face turned red when she saw the look in my eyes, she knew what he was in for as I opened my big mouth and politely told him that if he didn't vote then he had not right to complain about it..
I am not very politically smart I do try to keep informed and vote. I know what I want and usually who I want and make it a point to do my part to make it happen by voting.

I am so tired of hearing people that don't vote complain the most and use the excuse that their one vote doesn't matter anyway.

Well you're right , your vote doesn't count-- why--because you don't use it!!