I've been a long time lurker, so this is my first diary here.
Science fiction has long been a passion of mine, even longer than politics has been for me. However, there are some works of science fiction that folds into politics quite neatly. The rebooted version of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) by Ronald Moore is one of my all time favorites because it takes the viewer into a post-apocalyptic drama where the last humans are running from the Cylons, who they originally created and previously engaged in a war 40 years prior to the show. It's understandable that science fiction is not for everyone, but BSG is different in the sense that the characters, human and Cylon, are intertwined in an epic war of destruction and this creates unforeseen problems for the humans.
In one of the early episodes, Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and President Laura Roslin have a discussion over the use of military forces for policing the Colonials.
Here's his response after the orange squiggly.
There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.
Recently in the Senate, Senators McCain and Levin passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act in a 93-7 vote with one particularly controversial amendment. Senator Rand Paul, who voted "nay" on the bill said of the amendment the following:
Under the provisions, wouldn't it be possible, then, that an American citizen could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay and detained indefinitely.
Now it seems that President Obama just might veto bill due the the amendment in question. I must admit that I'm not fond of Senator Paul's politics, but I must admire him (and the other six senators) in this case for standing against the NDAA's provision.
Which now brings me back to William Adama's quote from a episode that aired in 2005. It's sad to see that a fictional military leader facing a situation far worse than anything we are experiencing has the guts to warn the civilian leader that it's dangerous to turn the military into police against it's own citizens. It's sad because a fictional character has more conviction than 93 senators who might make it a reality.
Adama's quote on the military is the overarching theme of BSG. Hopefully, this bill will not pass this session. Moreover, it would be good if the Senate spent part of the holidays enjoying the masterpiece that is Battlestar Galactica and get some perspective on what is and is not right for our country.
So say we all!
Edit: thanks for praise and the rec's for my first diary. Also, BSG touches on a plethora topics such as torture, terrorism, rape, child trafficking, assassinations, military coups, labor abuses, insurrections, racism, and other lovely things. It's worth watching again and again.