Letter: Time to remember the Four Freedoms

To the community,

On Jan. 6, 1941, FDR delivered his Four Freedoms speech to Congress. Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. After his speech, FDR requested a pamphlet for publication on the Four Freedoms.

The Four Freedoms should be the national standard for America. However, today we are way off the mark. We have regressed.

In 1947, the National Security Act created, among other things, the CIA. The CIA has become a covert agency that listens in on citizens’ phone conversations and reads citizens’ emails. Of course, it gets help from its blood brother the FBI. According to Oliver Stone, “NSA intercept and stores … 1.7 billion emails, phone calls and other communications each day.” President Harry S. Truman feared that the CIA could turn into a Gestapo. Bottom line, Big Brother has big ears.

Bill Crawford

On worship. Hate crimes are alive. Many are aimed at religious groups. Seems know nothing has been reborn.

On freedom from want. It appears that the homeless numbers are growing, meaning the police must use force in many of the nation’s cities to patrol or break up homeless camps. But it’s a given that people need shelter, a roof over their head. Also, food banks, etc, are increasing in numbers to meet the needs of the millions who would go hungry. It seems that we need national programs to hopefully remedy the sad situation. President Abraham Lincoln said the government should do for the people what the people cannot do for themselves. That sounds reasonable, especially since we spend billions on the far away wars and military activities. Wars that will cause us to have a national debt for ages to come.

On freedom from fear. We do have our wars so fear of something must have hold of us. Here at home we have the beginning of a police state, i.e. the CIA and FBI. And according to the British Observer, “… more Americans have been killed by firearms over the past 45 years than in all the wars the U.S. has been involved in since its birth.” As the poet said, “Man’s heart is in his weapons.”

Amen.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe