Col. Writ. 1/22/04 State of disunion...again. By Mumia Abu-Jamal from death row There is something deeply disturbing about George W. Bush standing in the well of Congress, smirking out at his audiences. Even though it is important that political commentators view the spectacle, I have studiously avoided it, because of the unpleasant feelings it evokes. I watched it for a few minutes, however, and was surprised to be surprised about what I saw. It was a classic moment, one surely missed by the millions who relied on written reports of the event. George, surely not the world's best speechmaker, was revving up on the infamous Patriot Act, and he delivered the following lines: Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule ... You need to renew the Patriot Act. What was lost in the written text, was the congressional reaction. When Bush delivered the line saying the Act was set to expire, a significant number of congresspeople applauded that fact. Bush seemed momentarily rattled, then glared at those applauding, as he tried to make his main point (the next line). By that time, congressional Republicans caught on, and began out-clapping those who applauded his first line. It was a moment, true, but it reflected the truth that there are significant divisions and disunions, in American society. For many people, the provisions of the Patriot Act, among them the abrogation of the 4th Amendment 'guarantee' against unreasonable search and seizure, are terrifying. That Amendment, is now only good for history books. Nor can we forget how it came to pass; a frightened, harried Congress, fearful from an apparent anthrax attack, rushed the bill through, at the urging of the US Justice Department, fearful of the political repercussions if they didn't. Detroit's senior congressman, John Conyers, days after the voting, told a televised audience on BET that neither he, nor many of his colleagues, had even read the bill! Rushed, harried, fearful, under Justice Department pressure, they signed into law a sweeping measure that profoundly changes many areas of American law. Amazing. Yet, with the Administration using the ultimate 'weapon of mass destruction' -- fear, the nation, deeply divided, seems on the brink of even greater, and more terrible change. Americans, when fearful, are ever capable of doing great and terrible things. The now-shameful forced relocation of thousands of Japanese citizens to concentration camps, and the confiscation of their properties, still haunts the nation. Racist and xenophobic politicians played on American fear; and the fears became law. There will come a time, even if it takes years, perhaps decades, when the forced confinement of Arabs in this country and in the Guantanamo Gulags will elicit the same views. Despite claims of Iraqi 'liberation', within hours of the address CIA reports surfaced suggesting the nation faces a very real threat of Civil War, along the fault lines of faith and ethnicity, for the Shiites, who comprise nearly 60% of the Iraqi population, have been waiting for over a generation to flex their political muscles. The US occupation has opened the way to potential chaos there and throughout the region. We may, in a matter of months, be watching the emergence of a Shia state, that rivals its neighbor, Iran. And while millionaires thrill at their games of chance on Wall Street, average Americans are twisted with anxiety over what some economists have called a 'jobless recovery.' As for Bush's claim to America's "mission", nations the world over have some idea of that "mission", and most have rejected it, outright, as New Age Imperialism The State of the Union, is Disunion. Copyright 2024 Mumia Abu-Jamal [Mr. Jamal has written widely about war and other issues. His latest work, *Faith of Our Fathers* (Africa World Press, 2024) was named one of "The Most Remarkable Books of 2024" by *Black Issues Book Review* (Nov/Dec '03).] Check out Mumia's NEW book: FAITH OF OUR FATHERS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE at www.africanworld.com Mumia Abu-Jamal is also the author of three other books: 'Live from Death Row', 'Death Blossoms', and 'All Things Censored'. When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is just, yet refuse to defend it--at that moment you begin to die. And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about justice." - Mumia Abu-Jamal MUMIA'S COLUMNS NEED TO BE PUBLISHED AS BROADLY AS POSSIBLE TO INSPIRE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT AND HELP CALL ATTENTION TO HIS CASE. The campaign to kill Mumia is in full swing and we need you to **please** contact as many publications and information outlets as you possibly can to run Mumia's commentaries (on-line and **especially off-line**)!! The only requirements are that you run them *unedited*, with every word including copyright information intact, and send a copy of the publication to Mumia and/or ICFFMAJ. THANK YOU!!! Keep updated by reading ACTION ALERTS!! at www.mumia.org, www.onamove.org, and their links. To download Mp3's of Mumia's commentaries visit www.prisonradio.org The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia! PLEASE CONTACT: International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ P.O. 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