| nov 03 2009 | | Fortress America. | America has turned into a fortress. The only question is it to control the people coming in or those leaving. As one of only two countries in the world that make their citizens pay tax to the IRS no matter where in the world they work or how long they stay there, the control is all persuasive.
Anyway back to my experience during the period over the end of October and beginning of November. I had never had the slightest interest in travel to the States and as the conditions there worsened my conviction strengthened. However, due to someone making travel plans on my behalf I found myself booked to travel from Canada to England via Newark airport. Well only a stop over, I told myself, just a few hours on American soil.
Well wrong, actually as the US departure lounge at Halifax airport is under American jurisdiction. My first contact with the Immigration officer set the tone for the entire experience. Rude, aggressive, intimidating and this from a female agent. They must be trained not to smile, make conversation or be helpful. Straight out of the gate I was reprimanded for not completing some procedure on-line. I was told that I could be fined and the airline could be fined for this infringement. I hadn’t been if front of the individual for more than a minute and already I was a felon. My protestation that I had never heard of it and that was why I hadn’t complied; only got me a searing blast of officialdom speak. Luckily she must have had her quota of travellers to be shipped to Guantanamo, as I was flung an explanatory sheet and told to fill it in on-line when I have got through security. In a pique of defiance I never did go on-line and fill it in as when I looked there was a forty odd dollar charge for this privilege.
Next I was finger printed and photographed. Whether this makes you fell safer flying or you don’t care about your civil liberties, I found it incredible that I was subjected to this with no just cause. What is the point of passports and travel documents? There was another race that had a similar obsession with records, they also had a perchance for invading countries.
On the way back through Newark the experience was no better. Finger printed and photographed again. As if they had a faulty database that they couldn’t rely on. More immigration officers that had completed the Waffen SS training course and passed with flying colours. It is easy to see why Americans have trouble with their police forces. Videos of police beating their citizens are all over YouTube. Police forces that look more like the military with armoured cars and military equipment. Whose citizens are they going to be deployed against? Demonstrations no matter how peaceful, brutally broken up with individuals rounded up and arrested, only to be freed later with no charges placed against them.
America is no more secure for all this tyranny. Creating a police state does not protect the citizens. Their whole belief system is screwed up. Invading poor countries and brutally killing men, women and children doesn’t make America safer.
The conclusion of my trip was lining up at Canadian immigration and telling my experience of American immigration officers to the agent as he checked my passport. He laughed and said to me ‘welcome home.’ What a wonderful country Canada is. We must take nothing for granted or just like the Americans bit by bit, small parts of your rights are taken away until there is nothing left. Be vigilant of retaining our liberties and way of life and distrust any scoundrel that tells you to give him your rights so he can protect you better.
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