Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

September 10, 2009

Virginia?s Ft. Lee was the site of a recent three-day counter-terrorism training exercise for soldiers and police. The training scenario didn?t involve an attack on civilians, but rather an anti-war protest that supposedly threatened military personnel and their families.

Freedom of assembly and the right to petition government for redress of grievances are among the core liberties protected by the First Amendment. This applies to peaceful protests ? including those that involve incendiary rhetoric critical of government policy. However, the government ruling us considers peaceful dissent to be a form of low-level terrorism.

An Antiterrorism Awareness Training document issued by the Department of Defense labels ?protests? as ?an example of low-level terrorism activity.? The military has monitored at least 186 anti-war protests, and has collaborated with the FBI and local law enforcement to infiltrate law-abiding protest groups.

Constitutional republics protect the right to dissent. Dictatorships indoctrinate police and soldiers to view it as a crime.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.