Terrorism, Patriot II, and putting democracy on hold

Our country has a new enemy. But it's not a person, nation, or even a coalition -- it's an ideology. The war against terrorism is particularly difficult because terrorists could lurk anywhere and terrorism itself is not capable of raising a white flag to surrender.

So why is this war pertinent to our lives as American citizens, and especially as college students? How pervasive are those Washington initiatives that we so often hear about on the news but cast off as distant and unimportant? Why is the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the promotion of Constitutional liberties, up in arms, and why do they think you should be too?

One main reason is the subjugation of our country to an intrusive statute called the Patriot Act, which was passed on Oct. 26, 2001. Though it is guised as a national security mechanism to free our country from terrorists, the act really just places our own government in the position to terrorize its own citizens.

Melissa Mathews in the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy explains that it "allows the executive branch to exercise powers with minimal judicial and Congressional oversight. The Act provides the executive enhanced surveillance powers, authorizes federal agents to conduct covert searches of homes or offices without notice, obtain sensitive personal records, track e-mail, and evade the Fourth Amendment's probable cause requirement."

In more tangible terms, the ACLU explains that "The FBI could spy on a person because they don't like the books she reads, or because they don't like the web sites she visits. They could spy on her because she wrote a letter to the editor that criticized government policy." Checked out any books on controversial topics lately? Researched on Google for a paper on a terrorist organization or anarchy group? If the answer is yes, then the FBI is probably spying on you.

Such an atrocious breach of Americans' rights has several negative implications. First, it sets the precedent for the continued erosion of our constitutional entitlements. This Act specifically targets the First Amendment by threatening freedom of speech and the Fourth Amendment by allowing searches without warrants or probable cause. Your guess is as good as mine as to which rights will be next to get axed.

Furthermore, such infringements have a chilling effect on society and thus limit our public discourse. The ACLU furthers that "If people think that their conversations and their e-mails and their reading habits are being monitored, people will inevitably feel less comfortable saying what they think, especially if what they think is not what the government wants them to think." Deliberation and dissent are the essence of what makes a democracy precious and unique -- they preserve heterogeneity and allow governmental development through the clash of ideas. After all, exposing the flaws in current institutions is exactly what leads to solutions and progress. The Patriot Act seems quite reminiscent of the Smith Act of the 1930's, under which discussion and education of non-American ideals like communism were stifled as a step to protect the sitting government. Though free speech is something we fear losing in the event of a terrorist takeover, the erosion of this right is already happening under our democratically elected regime.

Finally, this Act seems to all too easily target minorities. Racial profiling, heightened fear, and the discarding of probable cause allow prejudices to permeate the judicial system. These prejudices are responsible for programs like the Japanese Internment -- justified in its time as a national security measure.

You might be wondering why this is being written about now, two years after the Act was passed. The Patriot Act II is being written as you read, containing all of the fun-filled provisions of its predecessor, plus more. This new and improved statute would continue to erode Amendments I and IV, while adding a few more intrusions. The ACLU lists a few: "Current court limits on local police spying on religious and political activity would be repealed. The government would be allowed to obtain credit records and library records without a warrant. Wiretaps without any court order for up to fifteen days after terror attack would be permissible. Release of information about health/safety hazards posed by chemical and other plants would be restricted."

Americans fear a terrorist takeover because terrorists would repeal our rights, threaten our safety, and disregard accountability to citizens. But our current government is doing all of those things right now. I might even become a victim of the USA governmental spying team just for saying so.

Leah Roffman is a freshman and is a member of Tufts ACLU.