“Your Papers, Please!”

08-19-2009 • The New American

Not long ago, Americans feared and ridiculed the police states cursing too many parts of the world. We worried that they might one day conquer us despite their poverty and general misery even as we mocked their totalitarian tactics — especially their “Papers, please” mentality. Indeed, being forced to prove one’s identity to a bureaucrat on demand, having to carry and produce documents with personal information for his approval — or condemnation — seemed especially horrifying. One of our classic films, Casablanca, revolved around the deadly hassles of obtaining or forging such papers under the Nazis; episodes of Mission Impossible in the 1960s often featured the same detail as American agents outwitted sinister Slavic tyrants. What tragic irony, then, that the U.S. government increasingly compels us to identify ourselves. And it’s an even greater tragedy that this command no longer terrifies Americans, let alone goads them to protest. Until now. While the president and his cro

3 Comments in Response to “Your Papers, Please!”

Comment by Don Duncan

Entered on: 8/20/2009 5:45:06 PM

Lucky Red:

Was Bush given a pass? NO. He was held up to ridicule plenty when in office. Now he's out. How is it hypocrisy to point out that nothing has changed?

Comment by RickStone

Entered on: 8/19/2009 9:44:28 AM

Has anyone come to the suspicion that Lucky Red is a police or FBI provocateur? He seems to disagree with anything and everything and is always trying to insult or stir up peoples negative emotions. For someone that is so unhappy and disagrees with so many articles on FP it begs the question. Why are you here and why don't you go to other sites that follow and mirror your political views ? You agree with nothing and contribute nothing but annoying static. Which department do you work for?

Comment by Lucky Red

Entered on: 8/19/2009 7:44:00 AM

Now, it is utterly hypocritical, to say the least, that you have the audacity of putting a pic of Obama as Hitler on the cover to the article when the guy has done absolutely nothing but continue Bush's policies. If you're going to make fun of Hitler, you may as well do it with the right guy, BUSH, and maybe Obama after that.

You cretens deserve everything you get plus everything you imagine you're getting or are going to and then some!

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