From: [a--d] at [mises.Eng.Sun.COM] (Al Date)
Date: 2 Aug 1995 00:28:03 GMT
Subject: Re: Everyone's Wacko about Waco

In article <[centrnvDCK 4 H 7 M 43] at [netcom.com]>,
Centurion 5 <[centr n v] at [netcom.com]> wrote:
>
>
>Actually, if this were a situation in another country, any country
>for that fact, the siege would've never lasted this long...think 
>about it.   We Americans are better than this - the commitment to 
>saving lives, the preservation of our constitutional-rights, in an 
>attempt to de-fuse a volatile situation, and rationally deal with a 
>very disturbed individual that ended in tragedy should be remembered 
>this way; as well learning from the mistakes that government made.


As a relativist, I can appreciate the fact that the United States
has a good human rights record, compared to other
countries, or to most other countries.  I think that it is definitely
true that the people of the USA have the ability to correct the
abuses of their own govt to a greater extent than do
most people in the world. 

But the reason that this is true to any extent is that we the people
DO hold the govt to constitutional principles.  

So, the relevant standard, which ACTUALLY GIVES US any kind of a good record
on human rights, is NOT set by comparisons to other govts.
The relevant standard is the Constitution of the USA itself.

Just as the greatest test of the strength of the Freedom of Speech
was the preservation of the right of Nazis to organize and march
in Skokie, Ill, the greatest test of the rest of the Bill of Rights today 
is the preservation of the due process rights of unpopular people like
Koresh and his followers. 

When it comes to govt violations of the US Constitution, there is only
one standard that makes any sense whatsoever: "zero violations."  It may be damn
hard or close to impossible to get there, but that is the only goal
that makes any sense.   Think about it.


--Al Date