How liberty is lost

Abstract

In the wake of numerous recent changes made in American law and that of numerous many countries following the September 11 terrorist attack, civil libertarians, libertarians, and many others have raised concerns that the nations involved are sacrificing their liberty to enhance their safety. Senator Patrick Leahy expressed concern that the United States was “shredding the Constitution.” Civil libertarian organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have described the government’s penchant toward obtaining new powers after September 11 as an “insatiable appetite,” characterized by government secrecy, a lack of transparency, rejection of equality under the law, and “a disdain and outright removal of checks and balances.” Articles in the popular press express similar sentiments. Writing in the American Prospect, Wendy Kaminer expressed the fear that, “Give the FBI unchecked domestic spying powers and instead of focusing on preventing terrorism, it will revert to doing what is does best – monitoring, harassing, and intimidating political dissidents and thousands of harmless immigrants.” In short, it has been argued that in order to protect ourselves from terrorists, democracy may be endangered, if not lost.