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Freedom Action of the Week
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Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k
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Edited by Thomas L. Knapp. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and
other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
----- Featured Action of the Week -----
First Week of May, 2002:
Time to get serious about civil liberties
This is a difficult column to write; even among libertarians, differing
opinions prevail. In the wake of September 11th, America has found itself
engaged in a running debate on the importance of civil liberties versus
national security.
Some of us -- myself included -- believe that there is no conflict and that
there can be no compromise: that even the slightest sacrifice of legitimate
liberty is unacceptable and that no such sacrifice would in any way enhance
the security of the nation or its people.
Others see it differently. As a matter of balance, so to speak. "What good
is it," one might ask, "to have sacrosanct 'privacy' if the only result is
that someone else, using that privacy as a shield, is able to murder you?"
The debate is very real and very relevant. I visited the Thomas Jefferson
National Expansion Memorial (the most well-known feature of which is St.
Louis's Gateway Arch) this weekend, and came away unsure whether to laugh
or cry.
"[A]ll power is inherent in the people ... it is their right and duty to be
at all times armed," said Thomas Jefferson in an 1824 letter to John
Cartwright.
At the entrance to the Arch, I came upon a sign informing me that
possession of firearms within was prohibited and that violators would be
prosecuted.
Commenting to James Madison on the newly adopted Constitution, Jefferson
wrote in 1789: "The following [addition to the Bill of Rights] would have
pleased me: The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to
speak, to write, or otherwise to publish anything but false facts affecting
injuriously the life, liberty or reputation of others, or affecting the
peace of the [United States] with foreign nations."
The second sign I came to pertained to my right to speak. "Comments about
firearms or explosives," it informed me, would likewise subject me to
prosecution under federal law.
"The first foundations of the social compact would be broken up were we
definitely to refuse to its members the protection of their persons and
property while in their lawful pursuits," Jefferson said in an 1812 letter
to James Maury.
After the gauntlet of signs, I was confronted by a gauntlet of armed,
uniformed men, demanding that I hand over the bag I was carrying so that
they could inspect it, and that I walk through a metal detector.
In the space of five minutes, the keepers of the Thomas Jefferson National
Expansion Memorial had informed me that my First and Second Amendment
rights no longer existed -- and then they had *shown* me what they thought
of my Fourth Amendment rights.
As I stepped away from the metal detector, I saw the life-size statue of
Jefferson which dominates one wing of the museum -- with its back turned on
the National Park Service's "security" operation.
This is the state of civil liberties in America in 2002.
I can't claim to have all the answers. Well, I *could* claim to. Nobody
would believe me, of course. And the purpose of this column is not to
debate our differences, but to encourage effective action where we agree.
That's also the purpose of a new project operated by the Advocates for
Self-Government: "America Stands for Liberty." The site is a civil
liberties "tool chest," offering up-to-date information (and links to other
sources for that information) and concrete action steps. It's an ongoing
project that is just getting started, and this week I'd like to ask you to
get in on the ground floor: check out the site, read Sharon Harris's letter
describing the intent and scope of the project, subscribe to the free
newsletter and have a look at the first action step.
The Advocates have a long record as effective communicators for liberty;
their main focus has, in the past, been teaching libertarians how to become
effective communicators themselves. "America Stands for Liberty" is a
fantastic extension of that focus into the area of addressing specific
issues with policymakers and the public.
If there was ever a time to speak out, that time is now. I hope you'll
avail yourself of the tools that the Advocates are offering to help you do so.
"America Stands for Liberty:"
http://www.free-market.net/rd/692959649.html
Freedom Action of the Week archive:
http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
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