Balancing homeland security, civil liberties
                             Chapel Hill News       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

 By MARGARET MISCH

Guest columnist 

I believe that children are not born with fear, but develop it as they grow older. Many children in summer camps arrive with fears of caterpillars and spiders, for example. After campers learn that there are many kinds of caterpillars and spiders and become aware of the differences among them, these foreign and strange creatures are not all feared. They can be understood and appreciated for what they are, and even those that should be avoided can be respected. I know adults that never had positive experiences with caterpillars that can become beautiful butterflies or moths or spiders, so they view them all as threats that must be feared and/or destroyed.  

I sense that many residents of the United States also are afraid of foreign or strange people who come from places that they have never visited, nor studied in any American classroom. Many in the United States have never traveled to places outside Western Europe or selected tourist spots in the Third World. But having a few friends from different cultures may be enough for some to understand that different people should not make someone uncomfortable or fearful.  

What makes some people in this country afraid right now — a fear of the unknown, strange, and foreign? There was fear of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent in the Second World War, and now it is the fear of Arab-Americans and Arabs. Middle Eastern cultures, history, and current governments are not understood by many adults. The result is that these “foreign” residents in the United States and the countries from which they come are feared.  

What can residents do to feel secure and yet keep the freedoms that most individuals understand to be part of life in the United States? Can the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and the pending Domestic Security Enhancement Act, the so-called Patriot II Act, really make people feel more secure?  

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee, a national organization located in Northampton, Massachusetts, seeks to educate the public on the potential dangers of these hastily approved acts. A broad spectrum of local and national organizations, from the non-partisan League of Women Voters to advocates on the left and right politically, support this effort. On Sept. 19, 2002, the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee formally joined this national movement to educate, write letters to the editor, and lobby Congress to introduce bills and amendments defending civil rights and liberties weakened as a result of these acts.  

It is worth noting that North Carolina refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution until the first 10 amendments were added in 1791. Currently, protections of concern to the residents of Orange County are stated in Amendments I, IV, V, VI, and VIII, and also Amendment XIV, added to the U.S. Constitution in 1868. Noteworthy is that in every case, residents are referred to as people or persons. Amendment XIV stipulates “all persons born or naturalized” and that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

 As of Oct. 1, 179 cities, towns, and counties and the states of Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont, representing more than 24.8 million residents, have passed resolutions to protect residents within their jurisdictions from loss of civil liberties. On June 25, 2002, Carrboro became the eighth locality in the nation to pass a resolution, modeled after Northampton’s. On May 20, the Orange County commissioners unanimously passed the “Resolution Regarding the Protection of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.” Daily updates on local and national progress can be obtained from the Bill of Rights Defense Committee’s Web site at www.bordc.org. ---

After public response on Wednesday, the Chapel Hill Town Council will vote on a resolution. The Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee hopes that all residents who have been affected by any provisions of the USA Patriot Act or any new regulations enforced since Oct. 26, 2001, will attend this meeting with prepared 3-minute presentations to inform others of the restrictions regarding their civil rights that they have experienced.  

The public is invited to the next monthly meeting of the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee to be held at 7 p.m., Oct. 16, at the Chapel Hill Public Library, when plans will be made to present a public forum in Hillsborough.  

The Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee agrees with what Benjamin Franklin said in 1759, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”  

Margaret Misch is co-founder of the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee.