Wider Military Role in U.S. Is Urged

This is just awful.

There are three things I worried this country would lose as a result of Sept. 11, and I'm seeing signs of all three. One is its status as a multiethnic, inclusive entity. That one hasn't taken too many hits as yet, but there are some people nibbling at it. The second is being a secular society, where religion is essentially private. Already under siege in recent years, it's taking blow after blow, with things like one of the men entrusted with Constitutional interpretation deciding his powers come from God.

And the third is that the United States is a civilian society. Order is not, should not, be maintained by the military. The President is Commander in Chief, but he is a civilian. The Army, anywhere other than around its bases, isn't a major presence; the only man in a federal uniform I see on a daily basis is a postal worker. Ralph Eberhart is an Air Force general, and I'm mostly used to seeing Air Force jets, but still...

Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for the military, and they do a great job. But their job is protection against outside threats. This "Homeland Defense" stuff is not, essentially, an outside threat. It's a police matter. Our national police agencies screwed up, but turning their duties over to the military is not the answer. Nothing John Ashcroft has done will endanger our liberty more than repealing the Posse Comitatus Act.