Sterling Stage
Exactly What Does 'Belligerent' Mean
RECEIVED Thu., April 1, 2010
Esteemed editor,
I looked up "belligerent" online. It did not mean what I thought. I thought to myself, “Self, you are an ignorant SOB”; no, I thought, “You need to look it up in your ’63 Funk & Wagnalls.” So, a synonym of "belligerent" is "bellicose," which I suspected. A synonym for "bellicose" is "pugnacious," and a synonym for "pugnacious" is "quarrelsome." Bingo! That is what I thought "belligerent" meant, because every time I’ve ever read it, it meant that in context.
Now, the U.S. government wants to put U.S. citizens into indefinite detention if deemed enemy belligerents. Many political commentators have sounded the alarm that this will, if passed, put the U.S. on the road to a military dictatorship.
The McCain/Lieberman Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010 will grant the president authority to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone, including a U.S. citizen, solely on suspicion he or she is affiliated with terrorism. This detention means: no proof, no trial, no lawyer, no means to defend oneself in court, no requirement to inform family where the person is being detained, possibly no release, ever.
Even if this bill does not pass, it is relevant that they plan to do it (eventually). But what they really plan to do is put U.S. citizens into indefinite detention for being quarrelsome, i.e., disagreeing with any government action, be it protest of a war or any blatant criminal behavior. And news-speak for indefinite detention means dead.
Yes, we all have to die anyway, some sooner than later. I would prefer to do so in my sleep when I’m an active and lucid 104-year-old. I pity the fool.
I looked up "belligerent" online. It did not mean what I thought. I thought to myself, “Self, you are an ignorant SOB”; no, I thought, “You need to look it up in your ’63 Funk & Wagnalls.” So, a synonym of "belligerent" is "bellicose," which I suspected. A synonym for "bellicose" is "pugnacious," and a synonym for "pugnacious" is "quarrelsome." Bingo! That is what I thought "belligerent" meant, because every time I’ve ever read it, it meant that in context.
Now, the U.S. government wants to put U.S. citizens into indefinite detention if deemed enemy belligerents. Many political commentators have sounded the alarm that this will, if passed, put the U.S. on the road to a military dictatorship.
The McCain/Lieberman Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010 will grant the president authority to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone, including a U.S. citizen, solely on suspicion he or she is affiliated with terrorism. This detention means: no proof, no trial, no lawyer, no means to defend oneself in court, no requirement to inform family where the person is being detained, possibly no release, ever.
Even if this bill does not pass, it is relevant that they plan to do it (eventually). But what they really plan to do is put U.S. citizens into indefinite detention for being quarrelsome, i.e., disagreeing with any government action, be it protest of a war or any blatant criminal behavior. And news-speak for indefinite detention means dead.
Yes, we all have to die anyway, some sooner than later. I would prefer to do so in my sleep when I’m an active and lucid 104-year-old. I pity the fool.
Pugnaciously,
Kenney Kennedy
Kenney Kennedy