As I walked through the airport on Thanksgiving Day, my mind was set on maneuvering my way through the bustling airport and coming out alive. It wasn’t until I sat down on the plane, exhausted, that an absolutely terrifying thought entered my mind-Were my civil liberties just blatantly violated? There has been a lot of controversey about airport security issuing full-body scans and intrusive pat-downs. John Tyner became an internet sensation when he famously declared, during a full body pat down, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested." Personally, I in no way feel comfortable with either option. Yet, if you refuse both, you don't get on your flight. It is most certainly an issue of civil liberties, but is it a violation?
Well, Benjamin franklin would most certainly believe so. He has declared:
"They who would give up essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security. "
This is a man that is the essence of Americanism.
So what does the Constitution say about it?
Well, nothing directly, our founding fathers could not predict the future. But, similiarly, it claims habeus corpus can be suspended in "cases of rebellion and when the public safety requires it" So does this mean civil liberties can be suspended when public safety require it? Does public safety require it?
Who knows. It is up to every American to make their decision on the constitutionality of the government's actions, and from there make decisions that support their beliefs. But in order to make educated decisions, they must first examine the past. They must do what we have been doing in AiS, learning how the government treated civil liberties in the the perilous times of the past.
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