FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - (Coast Guard face is) "a military one, with guns, boots and the aura of martial law,"
Old Dec 9, 2007 | 3:01 am
  #9  
whirledtraveler
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Originally Posted by BillScann
Once upon a time, for those of us who grew-up on one of America's coastlines, the Coast Guard was beloved. They were more popular than firemen. You'd wave to them when you were boating or sailing, knowing they were always there to help. The 'Fish Cops' commanded genuine affection.

Then came the War on Drugs, the commandeering of the Coasties into the Heimatsicherheitsdienst (DHS), and the War on Terra. Their reputation has now sunk to the point where they are shunned by recreational boaters and seen as 'strangers' on the waterfront. How sad.
It's not just the Coast Guard. There used to be an ethic of cooperation between citizens and enforcement. Sort of, "we're all in it together." The true problem with the war on terror is that it makes all citizens suspect and drives a wedge between the citizenry and enforcement.

That, I think, will be the worst legacy of this decade. America is becoming completely undone. The civil fabric is being torn apart.
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