Fairbanks' choice of liberty was right one

Frontiersman editorial board

The city of Fairbanks recently joined a list of municipalities that have rejected the application of the USA PATRIOT act, that was overwhelmingly approved in the House and Senate shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The act expands the powers of law enforcement agencies to conduct searches, perform surveillance and to detain or remove immigrants. While many of the provisions in the act do enhance the ability of law enforcement to prevent terrorism without significant infringement upon constitutional rights, many others have the potential to cast those rights aside.

Part of the problem with the act is that much of its language is expansive and vague. Section 802 deals with the act of "domestic terrorism." Included in the language is a description of actions that, "appear to be intended to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion." One could interpret that to include political activism, which is one of the important characteristics of a healthy democracy.

Another section of the anti-terror act makes it much easier for law enforcement officials to conduct covert searches of our homes and property before we are presented with a search warrant. The act also empowers law enforcement agencies to access "any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items)" if the agency claims the records are part of an effort to protect against international terrorism. The criteria apply to U.S. citizens.

The federal government also can track your Internet activity, including content and Internet telephone activity, as a result of this act.

If the war on terrorism is being fought to preserve what we have come to define as the American way of life, its execution cannot include the sacrifice of the liberties that define that life. When terrorists destroy buildings and take human lives, they challenge our resolve to remain American. When we respond by damaging the Constitution, we allow them to break that resolve. We have been asked to choose between liberty and security -- or at least an increased perception of security -- and places like Fairbanks have rightly opted in favor of liberty.