Being in New York City for the Republican National Convention was a surreal experience, unlike anything that I had expected. Midtown was largely deserted during the sessions as businesses closed or let employees telecommute. While there were over a thousand arrests in the for days of the convention, everyone I spoke with from the police to the delegates to New Yorkers were pleasantly surprised with the lack of violence and absence of serious WTO-style catastrophes.

I made it a point to ask as many people as possible how the Republicans got away with having their convention deep on enemy territory when every major G8 / WTO / WHO / World Bank summit since Seattle has been held at secure, private, remote locations. It wasn’t exactly shocking that no one had a good answer.

As the week went on, I started hearing stories and reading articles about the arrests and the subsequent detention conditions in the makeshift Pier 57 holding pen for the protesters who got arrested. Max sent in this detailed account of an observer who got arrested and mistreated. Other accounts seem to confirm that the punishment was not in line with the crime, including anecdotal evidence that some of the detainees were held for up to 60 hours before being released without charges.

The question that must be answered is: When did voicing your opposition to the elected leaders become a criminal offense? No one was out breaking windows or assaulting delegates. The majority of arrests took place only after police attempted to move protesters or break up mainly peaceful demonstrations.

I did not go to New York to protest because I believe it to be a (mostly) futile exercise in the face of a regime focused only on their goal of enriching themselves and their backers. I considered my vacation time to be too valuable to sit in a holding pen when I should have been hanging out with my sister and new brother-in-law. And while all of this is true, I can’t help but feel that voicing my opinion to people who don’t already read what I have to say every day and going to jail might be the only way to start taking this country back.

Why are we trying to export freedom when it is in such short supply here? Where is the country that I learned about in all of those cool civics classes? Who gave the government the right to restrict where I can say something? Why does freedom of speech cover corrupt campaign donations but not the fundamental right to dissent?

I want answers, and I want them now.