Federal Judge Richard Berman ruled Friday to uphold the New York subway searches. Following testimony by national security celebrities such as Richard Clark, an apparently star-struck Berman gushed that he would "rely upon those qualified persons in the best position to know." The 41-page ruling provides a surprising lack of substantive analysis but contains no shortage of deferential pro-government assumptions.
Particularly revealing is this quote Berman pulls from an Amici brief submitted on behalf of New York City: "It would be inappropriate for courts to second guess the judgments of law-enforcement and public officials charged with protecting the public and making difficult choices of resource allocation." It's appalling that a federal judge would acknowledge such a grave misunderstanding of the judicial branch's purpose, but ultimately Berman's admission reflects the mindset of many terrified Americans.
The rhetoric in response to this ruling is overflowing with logical fallacies, mostly from right-wing bloggers who clearly feel safer already. Those who speak up for our constitution are cynically labeled as terrorist sympathizers, as if our agenda would somehow be advanced by catastrophe. In reality, we alone appreciate the full extent of the harm our nation's enemies have inflicted upon us. We abhor not only the loss of innocent lives but also the retreat from American values. Unless civil libertarians find a way to reframe this debate, the terrorists' long-term goal of reducing our freedoms will be achieved with remarkable efficiency.
We don't believe the U.S. Constitution can ever place us in harm's way. History has shown that our nation grows stronger when we expand freedom and weaker when we take it away.
The men who drafted this great document were not strangers to death and violence. These rights were enshrined in our national heritage by men who shed more blood on American soil than most modern-day security mongers have seen in their nightmares. When the founders spoke of the danger posed by unchecked government power they did not offer us the privilege of heeding their warnings at our convenience.
Our remaining hope is that this ongoing assault on the Fourth Amendment does not undermine the confidence of citizens in our Bill of Rights protections. We regularly receive emails "informing" us that the PATRIOT Act invalidates the advice on our website. Though disheartening, these communications prove that the information we provide is now needed more than ever before.
By understanding, appreciating, and asserting our constitutional rights we can breathe life into this aging document and provide examples for our public servants, politicians, and neighbors who sometimes forget what it's for.