To simulate means to pretend or deceive. And as a nation, we do so masterfully. It is evidenced in our commitment to the First Amendment, unquestionably present in our commitment to meritocracy, and this is doubly the case when it comes to education. And if my calendar is correct, 2021 marks the second decade of our commitment to protecting the liberties of our citizens with the Patriot Act.
Not everyone is happy about that though. Oregon senator Ron Wyden recently penned a piece calling attention to the off-the-record policies and practices of surveillance the IRS, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security have executed in the name of protecting us from threats foreign and domestic — even if that threat is the American public itself. And while the best time to be concerned with the sweeping law that gives the government the right to surveil us may have been 20 years ago, the second best time is now. Regarding the gravitas of our everyday, Mr. Wyden writes:
Conducting surveillance under an executive order means no court orders of any kind, no court oversight, no law governing what can be collected and how it can be used, and no public debates. There needs to be much more transparency about this collection — including three reports by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board that Senator Heinrich and I have called to be released to the public.
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A foundational concern at the formation of this nation was a general suspicion about the power of government over the body politic. In recent times, more attention has been given to corporate giants like Facebook and Google, whose collection and sale of personally identifying information has raised the ears of many folks interested in guarding liberty. In response, there have been moves, however poorly grounded, to hold companies to standards in line with the protections that the First and Fourth Amendments should afford. But let’s not forget why those barriers were protected in the first place. In the middle of our rule of law crisis, we may need a return to our governing principles more than cosmetic name changes. The Patriot Act is not some abstract threat to liberty — its chilling effect and continued enforcement is an affront to the First and Fourth Amendments that needs to be nipped in the bud. That is, if we want to actually be the beacon of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness rather than cosplaying as it.
20 Years After the Patriot Act, America Must End Secret Law [Just Security]
Measuring Nepotism: Is It More Prevalent In The US Than In Other Countries [The Guardian]
Earlier: Cancel Culture Is Real. And It’s White
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. Before that, he wrote columns for an online magazine named The Muse Collaborative under the pen name Knehmo. He endured the great state of Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.