Rest assured, the government will do anything to protect democracy. It will even sacrifice democracy itself.
We have had our own small taste of this "protection" right here in Albuquerque. On Sept. 21, four people were the subject of unwarranted arrests because they spoke out for peace. Beware jaywalkers: apparently, walking in the street is a riot.
And now we're resurrecting McCarthyism to hunt down one of our faculty members. However tasteless anyone may have found Professor Berthold's remarks, they were still just remarks. But, hey, in times of crisis like this, even a word could topple the government, right?
Hopefully, the University will be sensible enough to not actually fire Berthold, though clearly the bombardment of angry words and his own contrition have already caused him much pain.
But, if the letters in the Daily Lobo are anything to judge by, it also is clear that too many people are willing to sacrifice freedom for the illusion of safety.
When we look outside our small city, the picture gets uglier still. On Sept. 17, New York Gov. George Pataki signed into law the "anti-terrorism act of 2001." The act increases penalties for a broad range of "specified offenses" if they are intended to "influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion," among other things.
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Although I haven't yet found a thorough analysis, some activists and legislators have suggested that the vaguely worded bill may pose a threat to civil rights.
Knowing how intimidated police officers tend to get around peaceful protesters, it sounds to me like some forms of nonviolent civil disobedience may now be considered terrorist acts.
The provision of the bill that concerns me most is one that allows people to be prosecuted for "conspiracy" to commit or assist in a terrorist act.
If this provision is implemented the way drug conspiracy laws are, we are in for some serious trouble.
Under such laws, people have been convicted on the basis of evidence that would otherwise be too flimsy to ever stand up in court.
The most frightening thing about the bill is that, according to Assemblyman Martin A. Luster, the bill "was presented to (legislators) only minutes before (they) were asked to vote on this complex issue." Anyone who's ever seen a legislative bill will know that it takes far more than a few minutes to understand its full implications. Certainly, when civil rights are at stake, legislation should warrant more than a cursory glance.
At the national level, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Sept. 25 that immigrants can now be held indefinitely without being charged. Once again, so much for due process.
Moving a little farther from home, recent events in Italy call Big Brother to mind. Since Sept. 11, Italian police have been rounding up anarchists - arresting and searching them and seizing their computer hard drives, flyers and other materials.
The grounds for these actions are based on emergency anti-terrorism laws enacted in the 1970s, with charges including "subversive association" and "subversion of the democratic order."
In at least one part of the supposedly democratic west, the tragedy of Sept. 11 has become an excuse to make adherence to a particular political ideology a criminal offense.
With people now being called un-American just because they aren't blood thirsty for retaliation at any cost, I wonder how far we are from falling over that precipice.
As our rights are cut out from under us, it is now more important than ever for us to use our voices and challenge the government that threatens us under the guise of protection.
Oh, and in case any witch hunters happen to be reading: I, too, am a big scary anarchist. So come catch me if you can.
by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo Columnist
