Are You a Terrorist?

The Obama Administration has told us who they think the real terrorists are.

It’s you!

Although most Americans are probably still of the opinion that the main terrorist threat in our country comes from Muslim Jihadis, they are not the ones singled out in this report.  They’re not even mentioned, even though they were responsible for killing thousands of people on September 11, and for perpetrating other acts of violence using motor vehicles and firearms.

But, what do most Americans know?  Muslim Jihadi violence is not terrorism; it is simply a “man-caused disaster,” according to the administration.

With that handy definition in mind, the Department of Homeland Security has issued a secret report (which was eventually leaked to the media) entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climates Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”  

Key indicators of rightwing extremism in the report include those people who oppose gun control and are concerned that the Obama Administration is preparing an assault on the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. 

Other issues that are supposedly a tip-off of terroristic threat are people who support traditional marriage and oppose the growing influence of the U.N. over U.S. foreign and domestic policy.  Those who consider themselves pro-life are to be looked at with suspicion, too.

Not only that, those who complain about illegal immigration and loss of jobs due to companies leaving the U.S. (to find a more friendly regulatory and tax climate abroad) are also people to be watched carefully. 

And of serious concern to the administration are those who, like Texas Governor Rick Perry, complain about the danger to liberty of big government.

One final category that disturbs the authors of “Rightwing Extremism” is returning veterans.  They are potential terrorists — all of them.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has coyly explained that the report does not make accusations, just assessments.  For those who might fit into one or more of the report’s categories, that might seem to be a distinction without a difference.