If You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, You Don’t Have To Worry, Right?
With every intrusive law that gets passed, you’ll invariably hear a chorus of “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about!” I’ve heard this several times over the last week alone, and it has to be addressed.
If this statement were true, you’d never hear of innocent people being harassed or going to jail. You’d never hear of corrupt police. You’d never hear of the wrong house being raided. You’d never hear of people being screwed over because the other guy has a better lawyer and can get away with a fabricated case. You’d never hear of people being harassed by cops simply for the color of their skin or their style of clothing.
There are countless episodes of innocents having their lives ruined or even ended due to a deeply corrupt legal system and vague laws that allow cops to decide for themselves who should be singled out next.
The argument that you are safe as long as you obey the law is the epitome of social ignorance. You have to ignore all of history and current events in order to believe it. You basically have to completely divorce yourself from reality to buy into the idea that the cops will treat you fairly, and the law will protect you.
When a system becomes very corrupt, every citizen is a victim. Every law that singles out some people eventually ends up affecting far more people than it was intended to. The War on Drugs, the Patriot Act, the recent Arizona immigration bill, all of these create a system where the police are above the law and every citizen is suspect.
Every law like this that gets passed is another axe chop at the tree of freedom. Sure, it doesn’t look so bad to many people, but it won’t take that many more whacks to make that tree fall.
This is the worst kind of ignorance. It is hypocritical as well, because those who claim to desire freedom the most are the ones who have no issue taking it away from people who are not like them. Sorry, folks, that’s not how freedom works. If any of us do not have the same rights as others of us, then none of us are truly free.
When we say that some citizens are less “American” than others, or that some don’t deserve the same rights as “us”, we tear down the very fabric of democracy. If you buy into the idea that some are less deserving than others of rights, then you are wiping your ass with the Constitution and the Flag you claim to honor.
Freedom means having to deal with people and lifestyles and races and beliefs that you don’t like or agree with. It means that you have to deal with the fact that your neighbor, whose values, beliefs, choice of sexual partner, choice of music, choice of religion or lack thereof, skin color, and everything else you might detest deserves the exact same rights and freedoms that you enjoy just because they are an American citizen.
What’s going to happen soon, is that perfectly legal citizens who happen to have brown skin are going to be harassed more than usual. They’ll be profiled and you know it. And they won’t have done anything wrong. If you are okay with this, you don’t truly care about freedom. If you agree with it and spout patriotic phrases about freedom, you are completely full of shit.
I think it is Un-American to be okay with any of us being harassed or singled out. Ever heard of “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”? As divided as we are, it’s no wonder we’re falling so fast.
As crazy and ignorant as I think the Tea Party folks are, I would defend to the best of my ability their right to spew their jingoistic bullshit, short of threats to the President. After all, if it’s not okay to threaten one, it’s not okay to threaten any.
If only they were as diligent in protecting the freedom of ALL citizens, even if they are brown, gay, non-Christian, or liberal. Their cries for freedom and democracy are empty if it doesn’t apply to all citizens equally.
See, folks, to be American is to not have to have everyone be just like you or agree with you. No matter how wrong you may think another person is, the basic fact that they are a citizen means you should defend their rights and freedoms as intensely as you’d protect your own. That would include resisting laws that would curtail those rights and freedoms. So, wake up and be real Americans.
I agree absolutely.
Agreed wholeheartedly. It’s too bad the people who you are trying to persuade can’t be bothered to read what you’ve said. They’re too busy enjoying their own personal freedom to bother standing up for anyone but themselves.
yes, but the link directed me to my YouTube page. Why would it link to my YouTube page?
I understand the rest of them (twitter, digg, reddit, facebook), but the YouTube link doesn’t make any sense.
My visa was removed, I was deported, I lost my job and my car, because the officer that interviewed me thought that doing improv comedy shows for homeless shelters was my illegal job.
When asked if I had any medical conditions that needed to be taken account during the interrogatory, I said, I need to drink three liters of water per day (because I just had three kidney surgeries). The officer kindly said ok, went to the kitchen and came back with a cup the size of a golf ball.
Before that day I believed the US was truly a place of justice and freedom, now I’m not so sure. I really love the friends I made there, still talk to them almost every day. It shatters my heart to have to choose between gambling my safety to see them again or never go back again.
What happened guys?
I’m really sorry to hear that. Sadly, that’s not uncommon. The American Dream is just that…a dream. Not a reality. The reality is a nightmare covered by illusions of freedom.
That irks me as well. People think “Oh, it’s just another political rant.” Hardly anyone is interested in learning anything beyond the load of crap they’re fed through what passes as news.
@Tpain: this link leads to a special autotuned video of the article and lets you rate/favorite/share and make indecent comments on it.
I think the best response to the “If you done nothing wrong…” argument is simply “If I have done nothing wrong, then you have no reason to take an interest in what I do”.
@Rodrigo: What happened? The “freedom” and “justice” you heard about is an outright lie. The history of this country is characterized by one injustice after another. The wealthy and powerful in this country are still trying to bring back the days when humans could be bought and sold like livestock.
what i especially get annoyed about with the “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, why worry?” argument is it comes down to basic human rights for certain things. i should be allowed to put anything i choose into my body, like alcohol or cigarettes or painkillers or cough medicines or marijuana. its not always a matter of “you aren’t doing anything wrong, right?”- like i’m supposed to say “no, no, i was just sayin…..” and give up like a little speck- NO!!! i want to stand up for my rights. yes i am doing things that could be illegal- and i dont want them to be illegal because its stupid. its a terrible argument whose purpose is to put a person on the defensive and not on what is important–i.e. the actual argument. its like when i say that suspected criminals deserve more rights, and you say, “well you aren’t a criminal are you?”- its misleading and redirects the conversation towards their own ends
Spot on.
Great article. Wish we would legalize the Constitution. My 6th grade teacher said they would take over the radio stations, the schools, and government. I pictured jack booted thugs. It was much more subtle. My question is this; if the government is not following the laws set up for the purpose of containing government, why should we follow the laws set up by the lawless? Our government is so corrupt, there is no hope for it. Luckily, God is still in command, despite their puny attempts to usurp Him.
I agree wholeheartedly and I would like to include a quote by George Orwell:
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act” .
Need I also add that it takes courage to speak up and tell the truth, after all we are conditionned to prefer an illusory safety to real freedom.
[...] You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, You Don’t Have To Worry, Right? :William Suphan If You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, You Don’t Have To Worry, Right? :William Suphan. From the above named [...]
Remember that the next time you want guns banned, religious folk silenced, businesses bullied and controlled by government agencies, national health care installed, food regulated, and schools dominated by the government money machine. Just standing for the freedoms you personally care about amounts to nothing more than greed.
I think you’ve totally mischaracterized the Tea Party members. Most would side with you on the issue of the government being totally out of control.
You seem to have bought into the notion that disagreeing with someone who is of a different belief, ethnicity, or sexual preference is a phobia, rather than a difference of opinion. That, in itself, betrays prejudice on your part.
Other than the 20% of die-hard DNC and ROP voters, I think the rest of the US (60%) would like a Republic that obeys its own laws, starting with its Constitution. That is what every Tea Party member that I’ve met thinks. There are kooks in every movement, but don’t negate the fact that the current administration feels it’s okay to infiltrate “anti-government” groups, so kooks that are depicted on TV (only 5 corporations own all the channels) may not be what they appear to be.
To everyone out there, remember that a democracy has historically been the step before monarchy, as democracy is but a tyranny of the majority.
Well done, what was an awesome tribute to my life. I loved what you had to say and how you said it.
America isn’t a democracy. It’s a republic. Why is that so difficult for you people to understand?
Unfortunately, this isn’t just a problem in America. I live in England, and countless times I’ve heard my friends say “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have to worry”, about the prospect of compulsory ID cards for all citizens. They don’t seem to understand that it is the first, small step towards a government that can know everything that you do. Interesting article.
[...] You’ve Done Nothing Wrong, You Don’t Have To Worry, Right? – http://williamsuphan.com/?p=38 [...]
[...] of people being harassed by cops simply for the color of their skin or their style of clothing. Continue Reading Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d342').each( function(e) { [...]
I am a retired Canadian Policeman. I always enjoyed taking trips to the States and meeting many great people. Now I try not to go so that I don’t have to deal with your Police State which starts as you try to enter the country. Everyone is a terrorist and guilty and only by the good graces (and arrogance) of the individual border guard are you permitted to enter.
Amazing how you treat your friends.
To all the good people in the USA (the vast majority), I offer my condolences. Great article!
If anyone believes that you haven’t done anything wrong you don’t need to worry, consider this: “Between 2000 and 2005, 99 percent of the 435,000 federal criminal defendants prosecuted nationwide were convicted.”
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_464095.html
I don’t know of any human endeavor that has that kind of statistical validity.
This is something ALL Americans should be concerned about…
I totes agree, but your essay is weak without examples. It’s nice to say that history is full of examples, but it’s more convincing to say Dave was minding his own business and a cop came over and quartered troops in his home.
husky account you procure
Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a extraordinary job!