Who are you kidding? The US is no where near as oppressive as the anywhere in the Middle East. Not even close.
What were you thinking?
First off you either misunderstood me, or understood and went off on another BS tangent. I never mentioned "the Middle East" so why you thought going in that direction was gtg is unknown.
Since you did go there I will expound on my thoughts though. Our
culture is what keeps it from being as oppressed as other nations. Not our leaders ... they have pushed the envelope in removing our rights and going as pro-government/pro-business as we will allow them too.
For example, at the city level ... here in Austin if you are renting and are getting screwed by your landlord you must put up double the rent as a deposit with the court in order to
take your land lord to court. If you find something of yours that was stolen in a pawnshop you have to buy it back for what the pawnbroker paid for it, after the case has gone through the courts.
At the federal level ... if two people say they believe you to be involved in terrorist activities you can be arrested under the patriot act. You get no lawyer, no bond, and are held indefinitely. Anyone who knows your plight is forbidden by law (a federal judge issues a gag order) from discussing your situation, and your rights are all suspended. All this on hearsay ...
I find this to be oppressive and a violation of my rights under the constitution as it existeted when I was 20 years old.
This is what I was thinking ...
KEEP THE OPPRESSION TRAIN RUNNING!
