"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety."- Benjamin Franklin
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."
- Patrick Henry
On October 26, 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, better known as The Patriot Act.
This act allows government law enforcement agencies to track and search telephone, cell phone and other electronic communications, as well as financial and medical records and eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States.
And it's unconstitutional.
What one has to ask is, how much liberty do I need to relinquish to the federal government for my safety? I think Benjamin Franklin summed it up in one sentence. Liberty is the foundation of individual freedom; relinquish a small portion of it and you have opened the door for tyranny.
Playing devils advocate, one may ask how many Americans have been arrested, much less accosted by the Patriot Act. However, that's not the point. The point of it being unconstitutional is giving up ones liberty for temporary safety and when that happens, and we know this to be true, politicians will attempt to take even more.
Let's look at the Constitution and the Patriot Act, side by side.
Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The Patriot Act allows the federal government to monitor religious, as well as political institutions without any reasonable suspicion.
Amendment I -...abridging the freedom of speech.
The Patriot Act allows the government to prosecute any organization or group who maintains records that make public any investigation or subpoenas of those records.
Amendment IV - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The Patriot Act allows the federal government to seize any documents and effects without probable cause, thus violating the freedom of reasonable search and seizure.
Amendment IV - In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
The Patriot Act allows the federal government to prosecute and jail Americans indefinitely.
Amendment IV - ...to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
The Patriot Act allows the federal government to monitor conversations between clients and their lawyers in federal prisons and deny a lawyer to Americans accused of crimes involving terrorism.
Amendment IV - to be confronted with the witnesses against him...
The Patriot Act gives authority to the federal government to deny the accused any charges and to confront any witnesses. Any American who is accused of any crime related to terrorism can be jailed incommunicado and denied an attorney.
Revisiting Benjamin Franklin's quote, we begin to see what he meant. Yes, it is the federal governments role to protect us from the bad guys, domestically and abroad. But, how much freedom are we willing to forfeit to the federal government for the sake of temporary safety? Remember, if the government can give a right, it can take it away.
I am no Constitutional expert, but watch someone who is.
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