On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for many things, but what's gone on at Guantanamo Bay during the George W. Bush years makes me more thankful than ever for the Bill of Rights we enjoy as Amercan citizens. Obviously, President Bush and other government officials have done everything in their power to avoid giving those prisoners held there any right to a trial by jury or the right not be held indefinitely without being charged. This is scary because it domonstates exactly what the government, whether controlled by Republicans, Democrats, or whomever, would do to us if it could.
Don't think for one minute that our government officials wouldn't deny us those same rights if they could get away with it -- even with President-elect Barack Obama taking office in a couple of months. For example, if it weren't for the Constitution, they would likely try to hold Americans suspected of one of any number of felonies or misdemeanors indifintely and would attempt to deny them a trial by jury. The government could come up with all kinds of reasons why people should not be extended basic civil rights, like it has done with the Gitmo prisoners. The Bill of Rights was written to protect us against government officials -- past, present, and future -- whom our Founding Fathers knew would oppress us if given half a chance.
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