Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
I Reject the Security State

I Reject the Security State

Last updated on: December 30, 2014 at 9:14 pm by John Beckett

I Reject the Security State 2014-12-30T21:14:31-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Patheos Public Square has asked bloggers to write on the topic of “Faith in the New Security State.” This is a wide topic covering war and the rules of war, surveillance and spying (both domestic and foreign), terrorism and security, and the proper response to whistleblowers who release government secrets in response to abuses. Here’s the question as it was presented:

Since 9/11 Americans have largely accepted the idea that national security requires a trade-off between government power and freedom. However, recent revelations about the extent of government surveillance have raised serious questions about overreach, abuse of power, and the limits of democracy. How should people of faith respond to these revelations? Amid wide-spread public apathy over drone warfare, surveillance, and open-ended wars on “terror,” how can faith leaders provide stronger moral leadership? Do our faith traditions have anything distinctive to say in relation to alleged government overreach, whether by the NSA or the CIA? And how do we assess the ethics of those who expose secret government operations in the name of preventing abuse?

When I first saw the question I had dreams of writing a brilliant response that would draw on historical examples, ancient pagan philosophy and modern Pagan inspiration. But when I sat down to write it, it wouldn’t come. I tried a second approach, and then a third. I spent ten days thinking about it and got nowhere. I had told Christine I’d write something on this and started composing an e-mail that said “sorry, I just couldn’t come up with anything.”

As I did, I heard a voice in the back of my head say “if you don’t write on this, you’re accepting that we can’t do any better than what we’re doing.”

No.

I do not accept business as usual from the security state.

image from Drone Wars UK

I do not accept the necessity of endless war. I am no pacifist – military action is sometimes necessary. But military operations need specific goals that include conditions for victory and withdrawal. Open ended military operations breed fatigue at home and resentment abroad. The military is not suited for hunting criminals and the Army is not the FBI – do not use a machete when you need a scalpel.

Likewise, I do not accept the necessity of militarizing our domestic police forces. Police officers risk bodily harm on a regular basis and providing them with protective gear and adequate weapons is a must. But the fear of being “outgunned” is driving millions of dollars of scarce local resources to purchase military weapons and vehicles which are almost never needed. The mere presence of such equipment increases the chances it will be used – not to stop a drug cartel or a street gang, but to intimidate peaceful protestors.

And how many more people have to die before we understand that tasers aren’t being used as non-lethal alternatives to firearms but as torture devices used to obtain “compliance”?

I reject the criminalization of dissent. I reject any and all use of force against peaceful protestors. I reject the idea that protecting public officials means shielding them from dissent. “Free speech zones” are nothing more than live action versions of the comments section of news websites – meaningless and easy to ignore.

I reject the idea that the ends justify the means. We are the good guys because we do good things, and when we do bad things we aren’t the good guys any more. On the battlefield, killing people is frequently necessary. But once someone is captured, even the most vile terrorist deserves a day in court. To those who disagree, I ask why? Are you so sure our government never makes a mistake? Or do you simply not care that innocent people may be rotting in prison? I want terrorists in jail, and I want people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time sent home.

I reject the prosecution of whistleblowers. Releasing proof that our government is not following its own laws is a good thing (embarrassing, yes, but necessary and good) and is in no way comparable to leaking battle plans or selling technical secrets to a strategic opponent.

I do not accept the idea that security theater is effective. So much of what we’re told is necessary is simply an act so those in charge can say they’re “doing something.” We do it because politicians live in mortal fear of an opponent saying “you didn’t do enough to prevent this – it’s your fault.” 9/11 wasn’t Bush’s fault and Benghazi wasn’t Hillary’s fault. When we accept these baseless propositions because they attack people we don’t like, we reinforce the idea that pretend security is worth giving up real freedoms.

I reject the idea that absolute security is even possible. Look at the Olympics – unimaginable amounts of resources are being spent protecting athletes and spectators from terrorist attacks, and preparing for dealing with any attacks that may occur. Probably the games will go on without incident… but I still remember Atlanta in 1996 and Munich in 1972. It’s almost impossible to stop small groups of halfway intelligent people who want to kill indiscriminately and who don’t care if they die in the process.

Don’t misunderstand – I’m not advocating unilateral disarmament, literally or figuratively. I have locks on my house. I have smoke detectors. I have weapons I know how to use.

But I have no desire to live in a gated community – not just because I don’t like the social message they send, but because I don’t want to have to deal with gatekeepers. I don’t have an alarm system – I don’t like the idea of paying some company to monitor my comings and goings. I don’t have a concealed handgun license – I don’t want to carry a gun, and I certainly don’t want to wear enough clothes to conceal one in the Texas heat.

When your fear causes you to take reasonable precautions and think about what you’re doing, that’s a good thing. When your fear causes you to make major lifestyle changes, keeps you from doing what you want to do, and persuades you to spend limited resources chasing absolute security, that’s a bad thing.

When your fear causes you to vote for politicians who support killing innocent people because they might bag a terrorist in the process, that’s A Very Bad Thing.

Finally, I reject the idea that maintaining an empire is necessary, much less in our best interests. Ron Paul – not on my list of politicians to vote for, although I’m in general agreement with him on these matters – claimed the United States has 900 military bases in 130 countries. Truth-O-Meter called that “Mostly True” and verified 662 bases in 38 countries, with U.S. military personnel in 148 countries. Trying to establish the exact number misses the point, which is that whatever the number is, it’s WAY THE HELL TOO MANY!

Protecting our interests??? Whose interests? Certainly not mine, or yours, or anyone else’s who doesn’t own an oil company, or an arms factory, or a military subcontracting firm.

Spending more on war and the accoutrements of war than the next 10 countries combined hasn’t made us “safe.” I’m under no illusion that slashing that spending and bringing all the troops home would make us “safe” either – but I’m willing to bet it will make us safer.

I reject the empire.

I reject the security state.

We can do better.

Previous Post

January 26, 2014

Live, Local, and Low Cost

Next Post

January 30, 2014 Nine Things I Think

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first man created by God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Abraham Noah Adam