"Not in our town... you're not enforcing these unconstitutional laws" - Dave Meserve, Arcata, California City Council
I do remember watching this for the first time back in 2004, when it was first released. It seemed to be part of a trifecta of films produced by Robert Greenwald intended to raise awareness of how the government was pulling the wool over the eyes of this country’s citizens. Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties focuses mostly on the errantly-named Patriot Act, enacted after 9/11
Following the events of 9/11 and the anthrax scare, there was a push to get this bill through congress. It was named to try to make it seem that anyone who opposed the bill was somehow un-patriotic, and it worked. The bill came with the clause to hold no hearings on it so the public wouldn't have input or discourse.
A bill was crafted that had support of both parties. However, at the last minute the agreed-upon bill and a version penned by John Ashcroft were switched. It was a bill that had been put before Congress back before 9/11 to try to expand federal law enforcement powers. Now it had the momentum to get through where it was rejected before.
People who were reported to be terrorists were "detained". Most were Muslims. They were greatly mistreated, not allowed to see their families, and the arrests deemed secret. There are interviews with people who were subjected to this; people who were doing nothing wrong. The testimony is sobering. They were obeying the laws and yet they were detained as if they were criminals, for 10 months. Can you imagine if this were a WASPY American family subjected to this in another country? The boy in this family seems to "get it" more than most "real Americans" do: that by doing this we are doing exactly what the terrorists want. The terrorists have succeeded.
This is most of what this deals with - the unlawful detaining of people. The covenants of the Geneva Convention were also repeatedly violated, yet no one spoke up. It's back to what I have said about if it's not happening to me, it doesn't matter. Oh this is only happening to brown-skinned people with funny beards and a different religion than me, so it doesn't matter.
The other half of Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties talks about issues of infiltrating groups protesting the war or demonstrating against the administration's policies, profiling for terrorists in airport security, and people who just disagree with our government getting a visit from government agents or being put on a list. It's pretty scary stuff that at times sounds more like a conspiracy theory. The only thing is once the story appeared in Salon Magazine, the program - Operation TIPS - was killed a couple days later giving it an air of validity. A Scuba Dive Shop owner talks about getting a subpoena for his customer list and fought it. Librarians come in and talk about shredding records, figuring the government can't subpoena what they don't have.
In a way I am glad I didn’t review this back when I first saw it. All I can think of now is “my how things have changed.” I don’t like the Patriot Act, never have and I am disappointed that the President I voted for renewed it. However, it’s also quite telling that many of the same people who had no problem with the government having these powers while a White Republican was in the White House are suddenly so afraid of the government now that it’s a Black Democrat in the White House.
"Federal law trumps local law" according to Bush's Justice Department. Now who's overstepping? But it was okay for Bush to do it? All the things I hear people screaming that they are afraid of happening from the government, that they feel a need to defend themselves from, was happening back then, yet you never heard this outcry.
Watching Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties with the perspective of the time that has passed and with the changes we have seen in the cultural and political landscape since the film was released actually gives it more impact than it had back in 2004, which surprised me a great deal. The film holds up well, possibly even better with the passing years. Yes, we still have to find the balance between passing laws to protect the innocent in this country against people’s rights and liberties. Yes, we still need to hold the government accountable. The film really is asking us to take a look at people who are truly trying to find that balance versus trying to control what people think and do. That thought is timeless.
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