Proposed new terrorism act threatens our civil liberties
There was a time when I used to laugh at Libertarians and conspiracy theorists who ranted ad nauseum about black helicopters and jack-booted government shock troops. Now, with the advent of the proposed USA PATRIOT Act II, I find myself wondering....
Congress understandably raced to pass the first anti-terror legislation following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, approving it without all the normal congressional reviews. Unquestioned patriotism was in the air. Most Americans believed in the need to do everything possible to fight the terrorist threat.
But to the growing regret of many, the Patriot Act has resulted in an erosion of our civil liberties. It has allowed for greater police powers such as invasive bugging and wire tapping of citizens through the orders of a special, supersecret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It has resulted in the denial of defendants' rights to challenge certain government evidence at trials. It has reduced the rights of immigrants.
While the Patriot Act has been a terrible blow to the Bill of Rights, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department are now asking Congress for even greater dangerous powers.
An 86-page copy of the proposed new bill, leaked to the Center for Public Integrity last month, calls for even broader undercuttings of Americans' constitutional freedoms.
The measure is complicated and admittedly open to interpretation as to its impact on the constitutional freedoms and liberties we take for granted today. Some are afraid it could turn car dealers and travel agents into informants for the federal government.
Just in the area of First Amendment guarantees, critics fear Patriot II would increase the government's surveillance authority to the extent that free speech would be chilled, particularly political dissent. Patriot II would also increase restrictions on access to government documents, generally and through the hard-won Freedom of Information Act. It might also erode the right to free association, critics worry.
Perhaps it's time to stop worrying that the terrorists may have won. It would appear they may already have.
