Welcome to the Liberal Conservative’s look at the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, better known as the Bill of Rights, part 6 of 10!
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
I already mentioned yesterday and the day before that we’ve been enjoying the complete destruction of several of our original rights – a.k.a. privileges – given to us by the Founders of the United States of America. The war being waged on the Constitution comes courtesy of two pieces of legislation and two Presidents. They are the Patriot Act & National Defense Authorization Act and George W. Bush & Barack Obama, respectively.
An argument can be made that this country has been run by a less-than-stellar cast of characters for quite some time, but the explosion in totalitarian-esque legislation has only just begun in the past decade-and-a-half or so. That being said, calm down, Liberals. Barack Obama may not have started the shenanigans – that distinction lies firmly with Bush II – but he sure isn’t helping the matter.
So here, with the 6th Amendment, we can be sure that his actions, Bush II’s actions, and Congress’ actions have all but led to the dissolution of several American privileges including a quick and speedy trial, the ability to know why you’re being detained, access to counsel, and an ability to present a witness on your behalf. Each one of these are obliterated by modern legislation. Not to mention how hard it is to request counsel or a trial when you’re too busy being tortured on a regular basis.
So, How Does This Amendment Apply To Modern America?
Sure, this entry is a bit on the short side, but what else can be said that hasn’t already been said the past few days here on The Liberal Conservative? The 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments simply won’t apply to this country or its people until things like the Patriot Act and NDAA are abolished or – at the very least – greatly reduced in magnitude. We all know how awful George W. Bush was when it came to torture, but what many liberal Democrats don’t realize is that President Obama isn’t just as bad – he just may very well be worse?on account of the fact that he hasn’t shut down G-Bay despite saying he would and in the face of the wretched allegations of human rights violations coming out of the infamous prison.
Edited and published CB
