Patriot Act is anti-American

By Joe Gauger
Collegian Reporter
September 20, 2006

Sunday, Sept. 17 brings us the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution by its authors in 1787. As we reflect on the epochal importance of this document, both in regards to human rights and to progressive government, it is clear that the preservation of the Constitution is as urgent as it has ever been. The USA PATRIOT Act stands as a challenge to the integrity of our highest law and to the fundamental American values embodied therein. It is a challenge we should no longer tolerate. Repeal of the act will be a real and immediate benefit to our republic.

The USAPA was passed hastily in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by a Congress eager to protect the American people and to accommodate a determined president. It was introduced to the House by Representative Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., passed rapidly, and signed by President Bush within 72 hours. According to the ACLU, when it passed on Oct. 26 of that year, most members of Congress had no chance to review the bill before it came to a vote; only one senator and 66 House members voted against it.

The alacrity with which our representatives acted to protect us is laudable, but in their zeal to produce effective anti-terror measures and acquiesce to the vastly popular president, they violated not only the rights of the American public, but the ideals of careful and limited government established in the Constitution. There are many admirable and effective law enforcement measures in the Patriot Act, which the Department of Homeland Security has used to defend against terrorism. But the necessity of proper executive restraint cannot be overstated, even in the face of the current threat.

If it is true that the perpetrators of the attacks of 2001 were motivated by their hatred of democracy, surely we are granting their desired response by compromising the strength of our democratic institutions. If we are to preserve our nation, we must not capitulate to our enemies in this way. The strength of the American way of life is not in our great material wealth or military power, both of which have proliferated wildly under the Bush Administration. The great virtue of our country is its tradition of promoting freedom and establishing responsible government.

We are now five years and two wars removed from the unprecedented crisis of 9/11. The intervening period has shown that our government is criminally lacking in accountability and transparency. Passage of the Patriot Act was the first, vital step in our government’s sorry slide into cronyism and incompetence; if our regression is to be reversed and American ideals are to be reinstated, the Patriot Act must be repealed. The necessary law enforcement measures can be easily reinstated, as even the act’s harshest critics are resolutely in favor of them. The repeal of the Patriot Act would be a poignant and emphatic affirmation of American political values and a monumental step in the fight against terrorism.

gaugerj1@lasalle.edu