I love America. I love the principals it was founded upon. I love the opportunities it has afforded me. And I have a deep and abiding respect and love for its peoples.

But I fear for the America I love so dearly. In the last few months we have seen the government of this great land turn its back on the foundations of this country, but this isn’t the first time that an administration has grossly over-stepped its authority. No, the thing that worries me – that makes me scared for our futures – is the lack of moral outrage on the part of the citizens of the United States.

Before someone trots out terrorism as a justification for all trespass to the Constitution, I’ll quote a famous American:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Our current administration has taken great liberties with our Bill of Rights. Just his week it appears that they have abridged the freedom of the press (First Amendment) and without warrants or probable cause violated our rights to be secure in our homes and papers (Fourth Amendment). Terror suspects – or even just those who have the mis-fortune of being mistaken for a terror suspect – are commonly denied due process of law (Fifth Amendment). Detainees at U.S. run facilities around the globe have been shown to suffer cruel and unusal punishment (Eighth Amendment).

And yet inspite the continued erosion of our basic rights, Americans do not seem shocked by our government’s acts. We have let this administration distract us with a host of other issues: illegal immigration, gay marriage, and a war we did not need. But in the end, we are faced with the continued pattern of trampling the Constitution by the government of the United States of America. Where is the outrage?

I love this country, but I wonder about its inhabitants, and fear for it’s future.