Statue of... homeland security?

A picture is worth a thousand words, and I’d say that applies to illustrations also.

I’m a fan of editorial cartoons. I check www.caglecartoons.com for updates about 20 times a day. I just love the way a really good editorial cartoon can boil a heavy, complicated issue down to one single illustrated frame. Even when I don’t agree with the political slant of the artist, I really appreciate a well-done poignant cartoon.

But sometimes, I think they say more than the artist intends. I found this one, by Lisa Benson, today that really struck a chord with me, but not in the way she’d intended.



The cartoon is in reference to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to extend the writ of Habeas Corpus to detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Habeas Corpus means that anyone detained has the right to meet his or her accuser, or in the case of the American legal system, to meet with a judge and be charged with a crime. Habeas Corpus exists to protect people against illegal imprisonment. The ruling is significant because a number of people have been detained for longer than at year at Gitmo only to be set free never having charges brought against them.

Many commentators standing to the right side of the political line are upset by the ruling. They would like to see detainees held indefinitely. They believe that extending basic human rights to detainees, who are often 100 percent innocent, will leave America less safe. I believe that is the message meant to be conveyed by the cartoon.

But what stands out to me more than anything is that she put the words ‘Homeland Security’ on the base of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty stands to remind people around the world that America stands for freedom and liberty from oppression and fear of government. Lady Liberty reminds the world that no matter what, America was built on the notion that everyone has a right to pursue freedom and happiness with minimal government impediment and no fear. She reminds the global community that everyone has the right to criticize the government without fear of reprisal. That everyone has the rights laid forth in the Constitution.

Perhaps granting Gitmo detainees the right to face their accusers will mean more of them are allowed to leave earlier. Perhaps some bad people will get back out. But the alternative is many innocent men and women being locked up for 15, 25, 30 months… we’re America. We’re better than that. We have a Statue of Liberty, not a statue of homeland security. This protectionist, nationalist agenda is leading us down a terrifying road to tyranny in a police state.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.”

Many hawks wrote thousands of words on this notion that security is more important than liberty without actually saying it, Ms. Benson’s cartoon did what editorial cartoons do best. One little frame of illustration said what millions of words could only try to convey… many Americans value security over freedom and I don't know about anyone else, but that scares the hell out of me.