What Happened? For better or worse?

Okay, first of all let me state this:
In most of my posts and threads I try to stay either individualistic or neutral, pointing out both the positive and negative on either sides. Yet people tend to twist my words around, making me seem Pro-this or Anti-that.
Yes, I AM being Anti-Bush in this thread. However that does not mean I bring it into other threads. Try to keep that in mind.

That being said, lets get onto it.

No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.
...
This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for, as a wise man once said: "An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it." We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed-and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian law-maker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy.

This was speech given by JF Kennedy about the media's output toward the Cold War.

He strongly encourages the media and citizens to point out what they do not agree with in the administration.
Where is that today. I can understand that times have changed. I can understand if the administration were to ignore all the citizen's views. It started out that way as soon as Bush came into administration. But unfortunately things have now gone further than that. Laws have been passed that can enable the government to prevent, silence and stiffle citizens from speaking up.
I read an article here on ATS that a woman was given a fine for having an Anti-bush bumper sticker on her car. I have read articles about special services visiting a young teenage girl for comments made on a forum.

If JFK was wrong to encourage freedom of speech, US citizens surely would have revolted. He would not have minded. Because a revolution is an expression of unhappiness toward the administration. Even so, a revolution did not occur.

Bush. The polar opposite. Where is the revolution? It is all around. Unfortunately it has been stiffled. When this is brought up some people tend to say "we are protecting our rights." Well what rights will there be to protect if they are taken away? JFK was onto something. Bush is not.

If the United States of America is all about freedom and the freedom of speech, Where is it?

The problem is not what is been taken away because as we know the constitution stands as it is, occurs with many bills to fix this and that.

What is been done is the control of to what extend our rights can be executed. Yes we have freedoms but how much of that freedom is free.

You can express yourself as long as is not to offend others. But what constitutes and offense.

You can protest your government, as long as you do attract to much attention and gather crowds supporting your views, that will be considered a disturbance of peace and now even a threat depending where you are doing your protest.

If you are to protest the government during one of the government functions you still can but you will be in designated areas away and far to cause any impact.

Everything we do is still allow but withing the control or our own government standards, but what many do not understand is that the so call standards were put in place for the benefit of the ones that are to become the targets of anything geared against them.

One of the problems with the present administration is the lack of personal responsibility when mistakes that affects the world in the name of the citizens of this nation are committed.

And the way in which the present administration is cleaning themself with laws so they will not be held accountable for anything they do or will be doing.

I think it all happened gradually before Bush, when "We the People" started takeing our freedoms for granted.

We never dreamed that a president could come along that would do these things did we? We had our guard down and they took advantage of that.

We all should've been involved more with politics, current events, and elections.
We should've made more effort at least ten years ago to keep elected officials in line with the will of the people.

It's supposed to be a government ...

FOR the people and BY the people. But many were'nt interested enough , or too uninformed, or too lazy or too vulnerable to media lies. or too busy, or thought politics were too boreing, or too frightened by scare tactics designed to make them vote a certain way.

It's really quite messed up now.

I was born after Kennedy died but I do believe that
back during Kennedy's era that more of a majority of the people were into the politics of their country and more involved with what was going on than we've been over the past twenty years. And perhaps the media was more honest than it is now.

Now how to motivate the people to get those original freedoms back? I sense now that alot of people are starting to fear this administration.

That is definitely a very bad thing.