OPINION & EDITORIAL
Will our ideals be hijacked by fear?
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by Adam Goldstein
Friday, November 7, 2003
What is apparent from our Homeland Security policies since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is that Americans are more confused then ever about how to protect our nation and how to differentiate what is a real threat from threats we imagine.
These are not esoteric, philosophical questions on the campuses of America. The harsh realities of this battleground have now found there way into our lives.
Recently, my roommate at the University of Wisconsin was traveling abroad on his way home to surprise his family. The problem, as it turned out, was that my roommate happened to be a citizen of Morocco, a Muslim country. His first call to me at the airport explained how humiliated he felt, as he was singled out multiple times for security checks. His bags were completely emptied and he was frisked on more then one occasion. He accepted this treatment without saying a word. My roommate understood, or at least tried to understand, for he loves America and wants to study here.
He was not as fortunate upon returning to the United States. At the customs desk, the questioning began — questions about his trip, his home, his education and his beliefs. My roommate calmly and respectively answered all the questions that were asked. The security agents at the airport then began questioning him about his passport. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by security guards, handcuffed and taken to an interrogation room in the airport. He was questioned for several hours. He was denied the right to make a telephone call and denied the right to contact an attorney. He was told his passport was not valid and that he would be sent back to his home country on the next flight.
In tears, my roommate tried in vain to explain that he was a student, that he was merely returning to school and that his passport was indeed validated through the University. After hours of interrogation he was finally released, but he was told that he would have to leave the country within 30 days.
In Zadvydas v. Davis, the Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause in the Constitution applies to all persons located within the borders of the United States, even deportable immigrants. My roommate did not receive due process and his civil rights were violated. He was terrorized by a process that treated him as a threat before anyone even knew all the facts.
My roommate called me before boarding a bus back to campus. He was extremely emotional. He could not understand how something like this could happen but, more importantly, how it could happen in America. He asked me, “what about your Constitution, your Bill of Rights, what has happened to them?” I didn’t have an answer for him. For years terrorism has been viewed as a foreign problem, a problem for Israel, a problem for England, Italy and Spain, but not America. The threat of terrorism, however, is upon us. Terrorism has reached the shores of America. The question now is how will America respond?
America, the leader of the free world, is a nation founded upon ideals such as civil liberties, due process and equality under the law. However, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States government placed American citizens of Japanese descent into internment camps. In the 1950s, Joe McCarthy led a witch-hunt, violating the rights of American citizens because people feared the threat of communism. Haven’t we learned from our own history what happens when we allow fear to compromise our commitment to the Constitution?
Following Sept. 11, America has once again come to a crossroad. How do we safeguard our country from terrorism but not abandon the principles that serve as the cornerstone of our nation? The terrorists committing the heinous acts of Sept. 11 chose America as their target because their ideals differ from ours. But what is our message to the world?
The current administration in Washington is using the Patriot Act as an instrument to strip away civil rights. Is this our message to the world? That out of a fear of terrorism, America will willingly abandon its values? This is not my America. It is not the America envisioned by our founding fathers.
I still have not been able to offer my roommate an explanation on what happened to him-and what is happening to thousands of other students like him studying in the United States. I can only help him address the technical issues raised about his passport so that he will be able to stay in America and complete his education. I cannot imagine the lessons my roommate and others will take home about their experience in America.
I do know that as a nation, America must do better. We must stand stronger, leading by example and living the principals that are embodied in our Constitution. America’s values will always be threatened and under attack by despots, dictators and terrorists. What we compromise in the way the law is administered, threatens us more than any external threat to this nation.
Whether we yield to fear or maintain a steadfast commitment to the rule of law is what will distinguish us in the eyes of the world. The power of America comes from our embrace of civil liberties, religious and racial tolerance and our solidarity with people everywhere in the world who yearn for freedom. Let’s not let our ideals be hijacked by fear.
Adam Goldstein (amgoldstein@wisc.edu) is a UW student.
