Ashcroft religious belief
Via mapletree7His continued support for policies that allow law enforcement agencies to label someone as a terrorist, thus circumventing due process, would certainly be unconstitutional.
Via catdaddy
Certainly. But can it be said that this springs from his religious beliefs?
Directly no, but the elimination of due process is undertaken with a clear conscience when you are sure the person is guilty. We have discussed on occasion how a true believer can believe with absolute certainty with very little evidence.
I’m not convinced that his certainty isn’t rooted in his religious belief. The sense of I get of his speeches suggests that he believes that god is guiding him and he is doing good. If he believes god is guiding him there is no reason to allow the imperfect human courts second guess god.
That string of reasoning can’t be construed to be evidence that the depriving of due process springs from his religious beliefs but it does fit in with his religious beliefs.
The real question becomes does he believe he is guided by god? We’ve certainly come across trolls on this board who certainly seemed to think that god was guiding them. Does Ashcroft strike you as more or less religious than these people? Does he seem more or less rational?
To my mind (opinion) he seems like he strips away civil rights because of that absolute sureness that the fanatical seem to have. So in an indirect but very tangible way it is possible (if not certain) that Ashcroft’s religious beliefs are depriving people of civil rights.
–Zafkiel