Ask Auntie Pinko
November 15, 2001

Dear Auntie Pinko,

Although I am a conservative (for the most part), I have found myself agreeing w/ liberals more on civil liberties issues. I would like to shake Russ Feingold's hand for insisting that the "anti-terrorism" bill was actually read before it was signed into law. What's happening to me? I was in such a nice, cozy, ditto, cocoon.

John
Union, PA

P.S. You seem like a very nice lady.

Dear John,

Thank you for the kind words. Few of Auntie Pinko's friends and loved ones share all my views on every subject, but I've found common ground with many. I must admit that I, too, was a little startled by how quickly and clearly civil liberties emerged as a shared issue during recent legislative events.

It is natural to trust the government slightly more when it is composed of those who share many of one's views, and to view the actions of a government dominated by "the other party" with greater skepticism. When "our guys" are in power, we are sometimes more reluctant to criticize them. Nevertheless, civil liberties are the bedrock of America's civil contract and all of the social and cultural benefits that flow therefrom. We should never, never allow partisanship or other political considerations to deter us from the highest possible level of vigilance in our defense of civil liberties.

This challenge is complicated by the reality that the ideologies of both left and right can provide rationalizations for infringing on civil liberties. In both cases, we hear arguments that "the end justifies the means." Frequently used rationalizations from the left include providing more efficient ways to deliver government services, or promoting the accessibility of benefits to people under some demographic disadvantage. The right tends to favor issues of "morality" in their rationalizations. And both ends of the spectrum are often seduced by the siren of making their favorite parts of the legal code easier to enforce.

It is further complicated by the pragmatic demands of geography, politics, demographic pressures, advancing technology, and other factors that threaten to reduce the well-being of one group of Americans, to the benefit of another group of Americans. There will always be a need for some level of compromise on civil liberties simply to balance our conflicting rights. (For instance, I have the right to attend a live theatrical performance without having someone yell "fire" in the auditorium merely to exercise their right to free speech.)

The only way to deal with these challenges is for all Americans to think about them, discuss them, and make our views known to our representatives. Our views, not the views of whatever ideological pundit (from either side of the spectrum) makes us feel best. Stepping out of the "ditto cocoon" is a major contribution to this important responsibility, Dan, even if you never vote for a Democratic candidate. Congratulations!

And thank you for writing to Auntie Pinko.

—

Dear Auntie Pinko,

How can America call itself "The land of the free" when it has the highest prison population in the world?

David
Hartford, CT

Dear David,

You certainly raise an interesting point. Auntie Pinko doubts that when the phrase "America, land of the free," was coined, we had achieved quite such an incongruously large population of incarcerated individuals. But we have certainly distinguished ourselves in that dubious measure in recent times.

On the other hand, perhaps Mr. Key meant "America, land of the free (to commit crimes?)" Or maybe "America, land of the free (to lock people up?)" It's all in your point of view, I guess.

Still, here we are at the dawn of the 21st Century, with a quite astonishingly large percentage of our population behind bars. Now, here's an interesting fact, David: In 1985, America's prison population was between half a million and 750,000. Sound like a lot? By 2000, we incarcerated over 2,000,000 people, 1.3 million of them for non-violent crimes, including drug offenses.

By the way, the U.S. has about five percent of the world's total population. But twenty-five percent of all the people incarcerated around the world are rotting right here in U.S. jails and prisons. And, incidentally, losing many of their civil rights, including the right to vote. Since prison populations are composed overwhelmingly of minorities, this has become a stunningly effective way of disenfranchising those pesky non-white folks.

Auntie Pinko is fairly sure that this isn't what Francis Scott Key had in mind when he characterized America as "the land of the free" in his poem of 1814.

It may seem like a bothersomely less-than-relevant problem right now, when our country is focused on threats from outside our borders. But we have drawn a metaphorical line in the sand and claimed that the side we stand upon is the side of liberty, democracy, and human rights. On the other side of the line, we maintain, are the tyrants and oppressors of their own people, those to whom human rights and freedom are a threat, not an ideal.

Ahem.

And if the moral relevance of the issue doesn't convince our leaders to take notice of this problem, let's move into a more pragmatic realm. How much does it cost us to keep two million people behind bars? In a time when the economy is faltering, in a time when we are racking up a gigantic bill for missiles and other war materiel? How much does it cost us to build new prisons?

There are two factors in particular that have greatly contributed to this glut of convicts-the "War on Drugs," which produced mandatory sentencing laws and required incarceration for a whole range of non-violent offenses, and the silly "three strikes" laws. Unfortunately, as long as it is regarded as the kiss of death for any political candidate to appear "soft on crime," I greatly doubt we will be able to make any meaningful changes.

But thank you for giving Auntie Pinko the opportunity to climb on this particular soap box, David!

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