i am not an animal

Whenever I see the Statue of Liberty’s head lying on a hillside the line “I am not an animal” screams through my mind. Unfortunately that is not the line from Planet of the Apes, but rather from the movie about the Elephant Man. Somehow however, when you consider the image of a dismantled statue of liberty against the backdrop of the continuation of the Patriot Act – screaming out – I AM NOT AN ANIMAL – does not seem that out of context.