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Why Attacking Civil Liberties is the New Government Way.

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A full understanding of what civil liberties are, before looking at how they’re systematically being attacked and taken from us, is the best way to start.

The word “civil” refers to anything civilized or that can be expected from a civilized society in which the people act with civility.

In other words, people in “civilized” societies don’t generally attack, rob, hurt, or otherwise harm one another.

The word “liberties” is the plural of “liberty” which means, simply, a freedom from government interference.

Simple enough, one would think, except that these words are often twisted or manipulated to meet other definitions as well.

The term “civil liberties” is often used to justify government encroachments on liberty by claiming that a new restriction is actually a measure to “enhance” liberty.

This usually comes from feel-good measures such as firearms restrictions, detentions or searches at public events, etc.–all in the name of preserving our “right” to be “free from crime.”

“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”

-Justice Louis Brandeis

In the United States, we often define our civil liberties by the first ten amendments to our Constitution, commonly known as the Bill of Rights.

These were created by several of the founders of this nation and specifically required by several of the States before ratification of the Constitution would be complete.

Their purpose was to put “greater caution” into the Constitution, which is how James Madison put it. This was much to the chagrin of Federalists like Alexander Hamilton.

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The Greatest Threat to Liberties

The greatest threat to civil liberties in America is the government itself, as the federal government continually increases in both size, scope, and restrictive behavior.

In attacking civil liberties, the government makes more and more limits on us.

These limits include restrictions on political speech, criminalizing more and more activities (whether they hurt anyone or not), unprecedented police and prosecutorial powers, wiretapping and domestic spying, and even limits on broadcasting and the press.

Many freedom-loving people today make the mistake, however, of looking directly to the Bill of Rights to see if a new law or proposed legislation is attacking civil liberties.

First, the new legislation or law should be compared to the powers granted to the federal government by the Constitution. Most of the time, this eliminates the law as unconstitutional without need to compare it to the Bill of Rights.

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What the Law Really is

The law and government are not “organizers” and cannot, by definition, “give” anything to people. Our civil liberties are not “granted” to us by the law or government. They are inherent.

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