Bowling for Columbine director and political activist Michael Moore is urging U.S. citizens to take a stand against President Barack Obama’s administration and the implementation of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law the filmmaker claims is stealing American civil liberties. The NDAA has been criticized for a provision that could allow the president to detain American citizens indefinitely if they are suspected of terrorism.
The act is facing a legal challenge to its wording from a group of journalists and activists. A federal appeals court panel heard arguments from both sides Thursday, with Obama administration attorneys saying the act had not been used unconstitutionally. Critics have likened parts of the act to martial law, due to loose definitions of terrorist activities.
“At the moment a lot of people think the NDAA does not look scary. But this sort of thing never looks scary at the start. But the American people will rue the day if they do not stop this,” Moore told the Guardian in an interview after the hearing.
Obama “puts this face on it that makes it difficult. It was much easier when the face was Bush,” he continued. “We have to work and speak out against the Obama administration and everything they are doing to destroy civil liberties.”
Moore supported Obama in the 2008 election, but was more reluctant to give the president his favor in last year’s election. The NDAA is viewed by detractors as a continuation of Bush-era politics, and Moore suggests that liberals ignore the law due to Obama’s popularity. “If the American people understood this, I do believe they would be very, very concerned about it,” Moore said.
By the letter of the law, the military is authorized to detain:
“A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.”
