Today in class, my brilliant Professor Kauanui alerted us to the newest invasion of privacy conceived of by the US government. A bill by the name of H.R. 1955: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 recently passed in the House of Representatives, and is now headed to the Senate.
A summary of the bill, taken from the official website THOMAS:
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish or designate a university-based Center of Excellence for the Study of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism in the United States to assist federal, state, local, and tribal homeland security officials, through training, education, and research, in preventing violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a survey of methodologies implemented by foreign nations to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism; and (2) report to Congress on lessons learned from survey results.
Clearly, this fascist little piece of legislation is intended to extend the Patriot Act into the realm of activists and intellectuals. My professor is hosting a campus-wide forum next week to discuss its implications and possible avenues of resistance. Such legislation is NOT limited solely to political radicals, but also poses a threat to all who exercise their right to free speech.
The linguistic terms employed by the bill are defined as:
`(2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- The term `violent radicalization’ means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.
`(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term `homegrown terrorism’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
`(4) IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- The term `ideologically based violence’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs.
What exactly is meant by “force”? The clip below explores several possible interpretations:
In particular, the Internet is to be indubitably a primary vehicle for targeting individuals, communities, and organizations where ideas live and breathe. If I am a champion of any lofty ideal, it is the potential of the Web to liberate information and potentiate collaborative dialogue. As an academic, blogger, and all-around thinking individual, intellectual freedom is something I typically take for granted. Nevertheless, there are nations and organizations all over the world bent on eliminating any and all challenges to hegemonic rule. Over the past decade, the US has increasingly endorsed such projects. As such, there is no doubt in my mind that, despite this bill’s utter absurdity, intellectual freedom faces a grave danger.Do you love your freedom? If so, please share and distribute this information widely; it is your civilian duty.
You can view the full text of the bill here.
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