I have to admit that I was one of those people who got really nervous when I read about the Patriot Act being passed through Congress, just 45 days after the September 11 attacks that we all remember so well.

I don’t consider myself to be a person who gets all up in arms about political things in general, nor am I particularly paranoid, but after reading the details about the rights being stripped away from the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, how could one not get a little bit weary of what was going on? After all, weren’t those amendments there in the first place to help establish and assure the rights of the citizens of America?

What made it worse were stories and news clips I saw about the personal stories of people who were being detained without rights to their attorneys. After hundreds of these arrests and detainments – many lasting for months – the government stopped publicizing data about the arrests, because it turned out they didn’t have any evidence supporting the arrests in the first place. People were starting to figure out that this didn’t make much sense.

I spoke to several people about my concern, but time and again I was told that they were in support of this Patriot Act. Or, at least, they didn’t mind it, because they didn’t have anything to hide. So it shouldn’t hurt them. And if I didn’t have anything to hide, why should I be worried?

Well, it goes beyond that. It’s really about the whole atmosphere of hatred and fear that has been – and continues to be created in this country post-9/11. Now everyone is afraid of everything. And, just as I was afraid of, this Patriot Act did hit home for me.

I made a decision just over a year ago to move to Costa Rica. I live here under tourist status. I am still a citizen of the United States. I still pay taxes.

Recently I was informed by my bank in Seattle, American Marine Bank, where I have had a long-standing and very good relationship for many years, that they will not allow me to open any new accounts. As a matter-of-fact, they have already reduced my line of credit by 75% and had a meeting recently to discuss closing all of my accounts.

They have based this decision on the fact that I live out of the country and they don’t like the fact that they see wire transfers of funds leaving the country.

Though my address of record with them is in California, I am a US citizen and I have done nothing illegal, I have been tagged as “suspicious.”

I find all of this incredibly ridiculous. I would be willing to bet the president of the bank has property in another country, though I don’t know this for sure. Does that make him “suspicious” too?

It’s really a sad day when we have to live in a culture of fear and paranoia. I pose the question, “When is enough, enough?” I can certainly move my account somewhere else. And I can continue to ignore the fact that I don’t like the Patriot Act and the horrors it creates for those whose rights have been stripped away.

But one day when you find your rights have gone away too, don’t say that you haven’t been warned. You can always look me up in Costa Rica.