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A primer on personal freedoms

As children one of the first things we learn is what our flag looks like and how to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” We memorize the Pledge of Allegiance, being sure to hold the right hand over the left side of our chest and from there we are fed the stories of American heroism like those of Paul Revere and George Washington, each instilling in us the sacred idea of patriotism. However—unless you went to a private school that had a passion for the education of freedom—the bet is that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were passed over so quickly you barely caught “We the people.” In fact, I would also wager that this is the only part most of us can quote.

If you want to divide a room quickly all you have to do is bring up our rights as citizens of the United States. You’ll have a few groups to choose from and side with. There will be the peace-toting folks and the Bible Belters and those who weren’t and haven’t been up to date in quite a while with what I’ll call the “American situation.” I mean, basically, our rights, as in The Bill of Rights that was formed over 200 years ago. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It has nothing to do with being liberal or right wing. It is what it is. These are the facts of what is going down with or without our knowledge.

We don’t live in the early 1960’s with the happy, smiling Kennedys by our side. There are real threats to our rights and to us as a people and we can choose to ignore them and hope they go away or that some other activist group will solve the problem or we can get off our lazy asses and do something.

The Subject of Control

There seems to be this misconception about who controls whom, whether the government controls us or we control them. The First Amendment clearly states that we can seek out an alternative to bad government.

First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The gold nugget is in the last part, “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” It is important to understand that the government did not give us our rights. The role of the government, which they conveniently keep forgetting, is to guard the rights that we already have, not to rewrite them. The First Amendment was and is based on the premise that people can share information with no bars, especially about their government, and that we will be informed about the choices of leaders to elect, what forms of government we want and what laws to enact. The freedom of speech about our government enables us to seek alternatives to a bad government. This is not radical thinking or made up jargon, this is the First Amendment.

The hot button phrase “Patriot Act” has been uttered on every American’s lips, at least those old enough to understand it. But what is being said about the Patriot Act is controversial at best. Those for it see the benefits of a “less dangerous” world by being able to monitor phone conversations, track computers and watch those who are deemed suspicious. Those against it see it as an invasion of privacy and an attack against the First Amendment. One thing we agree on is we all want less danger. But at what cost? Are we so afraid to stand up and protect ourselves or is it that we feel underpowered without a government telling us what to do and how to do it? Are we just lethargic and lazy? And from whom, exactly, do we need to be protected?

The Patriot Act is defined as an act “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.”

Under this, the authority is given to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism, computer fraud and abuse offenses. The problematic question is what is considered terrorism these days? One of the descriptions given is simply “to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion” as stated in section 2331 of the U.S. Code. Well that is a little vague and a bit broad. What exactly does this mean? It could apply to anyone exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, expression and assembly through civil acts of disobedience. Our spiritual leaders could be under surveillance for leading their flocks and people of the same spiritual life under that little word “coercion.” This could affect our mosques and churches, despite the separation of church and state. I say this “could” affect but, really, it already has.

It is well known that leaders of Mosques and those of certain religious heritage have already been detained and questioned and then set free for no other reason than their beliefs and nationality. Here’s a quick story in relation:

When I was twelve years old, I had the privilege to travel to Israel. Upon arriving I was pulled away from my parents and questioned for an hour about my purpose there, all because when they searched my luggage they found a Bible. They were afraid I might try to convert people when in fact my purpose there was to work in a house where Jews, Muslims and Christians met in harmony to promote peace and friendship and to help fix up some small colleges in Bethlehem. I felt violated and was thankful at the time that our country did not profile. How naïve I was. Now I am ashamed to realize that we too have taken up this nasty habit.

According to a report by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim man was detained for five hours with no explanation at George Bush International Airport in Texas last month after returning from visiting family in Afghanistan. He wasn’t an Afghan citizen visiting the U.S.; he was an American returning home.

We, as citizens, have certain freedoms and they are not luxuries, they are rights and they are beautiful. But somewhere along the line we became afraid of our government or too reliant on them. I think it is a mixture of both. We are so focused on this “American Dream” that we don’t care what it takes to achieve it. Our freedoms here at home are waning while we cheer on the war in Iraq. The government decided we no longer needed to know about laws being passed. They think little about violating our rights when they are supposed to protect our rights. Their actions and intentions are well hidden in many cases. This is not to say they haven’t helped us progress in the past. However I am beginning to feel like a carrot is being dangled from a stick in front of our faces and we have become the ass that is so focused on following it that we care not for the other things around us. Or alternately: like we are the victims of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho being lulled almost to sleep with nonsense jargon while an ax is about to come down on our heads. Pick your preference.

Today if you want to know about laws up for debate or the state of our rights you have to look to organizations like the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC).

Michael Berg is the field organizer for the BORDC. Some of the things he is hoping to complete are setting up classes in high schools and encouraging communities to pass resolutions in defense of basic liberties. He also confronts presidential candidates when they visit South Carolina. Berg believes most Americans know little about their rights according to the constitution.

“People have the idea about the First Amendment,” he says. “Although it’s generally understood as just the idea that people can say what they want.”

But the constitution is not just about saying what you want. Another important part of the Bill of rights pertains to the Fourth Amendment.

The Fourth Amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Whereas the First Amendment made its mark in the 1960’s with the mass demonstrations and free speech being practiced by MC5 and other troubadours of this era, the Fourth, though brought to attention during this time, slipped through the cracks and largely out of America’s mind. Berg feels that most people are ignorant about the Fourth Amendment and why it is important. As he points out, “authorities do not have the right to search you, your property, your car, your mail, your email, your telephone, your personal affairs without some evidence that you are committing some sort of illegal activity.”

Section 505 of the Patriot Act allows for the subpoena of personal records and these subpoenas do not require probable cause. So for any reason, a whim even, your personal and private records can be taken and gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Before this was put into action these letters could only be issued against those people who were reasonably suspected of espionage. The standard has loosened. No longer do you have to be a senior official to issue these papers, they can simply be independently warranted by FBI field offices.

Dr. Steven Kurtz is a Professor of Art at SUNY Buffalo. He along with his late wife, Hope, are founding members of the internationally acclaimed art and theater collective Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), which uses art to examine the impact of science and technology on consumer culture. In the past ten years cultural institutions worldwide have hosted CAE’s participatory theater projects. These projects, being a mix between art and science, are fundamental in helping the general public understand biotechnology and the many issues surrounding it.

In late 2003 Kurtz asked his friend Robert E. Ferrell, a well-known genetics researcher at the University of Pittsburgh to order some bacteria from a medical supply center to be used in a demonstration. These two bacteria, serratia marcescens and bacillus atrophaeus, are two bacteria commonly found in dirt and in the grout between bathroom tile. In May of 2004, Kurtz and his wife, Hope, were preparing to present “Free Range Grain,” a project that examines GM agriculture, at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, when Hope suddenly died of heart failure. Kurtz placed a 911 call and the police that arrived deemed the couple’s art suspicious and called the FBI. The art materials consisted of several Petri dishes containing three harmless bacteria cultures and a mobile lab to test food labeled “organic” for the presence of genetically modified ingredients. These materials had been safely displayed in museums and galleries throughout Europe and North America with absolutely no risk to the public.

Later, as Kurtz was on his way to the funeral home, he was illegally detained by agents from the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force. He was informed that he was being investigated for “bioterrorism.” At no point during the 22 hours Kurtz was held and questioned did the agents Mirandize him. As this was happening agents from numerous federal law enforcement agencies - including five regional branches of the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Buffalo Police, Fire Department, and state Marshall’s office - descended on Kurtz’s home in Haz-Mat suits. They cordoned off half a block around his home. They then seized his cat, car, computers, manuscripts, books, equipment and even his wife’s body from the county coroner for further analysis. As if this wasn’t enough, the Erie County Health Department condemned his house as a possible “health risk.”

A week later the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State after testing samples from the home and announcing there was no public safety threat allowed Kurtz to finally return to his home and more importantly to recover his wife’s body.

This was not to be the end though. Both Dr. Ferrell and Kurtz have been slapped with mail fraud charges. Mail fraud refers to any scheme which attempts to unlawfully obtain money or valuables in which the postal system is used at any point in the commission of a criminal offence. That being said, the bacteria was not unlawfully obtained and the bacteria is used commonly in student/teacher situations.

The FBI has refused to return most of the tens of thousands of dollars worth of impounded materials. The list also includes a book Kurtz was working on (an example of not only the Fourth Amendment being violated but the First as well).

Kurtz expressed his beliefs and opinions through artful and scientific presentation. Only his art proved a point. How many of us use art as our medium for expression? How many science teachers have experiments in their home intended to be used in a classroom? Maybe you think this whole thing is extreme and full of paranoia. I think we tend to label things extreme when it hasn’t happened to us. But it does and did happen to Dr. Steven Kurtz and his wife and it can’t be swept under the rug.

Weapons of Fear

So, if you don’t have anything to hide why be afraid of the phones being tapped or your home searched? Michael Berg thinks the answer is simple. “Would they let a total stranger rummage through their home? And if not, why should they let a total stranger with a badge do so?”

Berg makes a point. Behind the badge they are just people who have agreed to uphold the law, the Constitution and our rights. Government and the people were never meant to be separated; after all the government is made up of people. However we are a country run by money and corporate interests.

Today we are a country ruled by fear. The propaganda is everywhere, on TV, in the newspapers and perhaps the biggest example is in history. If you want to rule a country, install fear. It worked wonders for Hitler and Stalin. Our government is doing a great job here as well. Berg puts it best, “The fear is fear of the other, the terrorist, the Muslim, but it is also just plain old fear of authority, the police, FBI, NSA, the Pentagon, other agencies.” We are becoming a police state.

In May of 2003, two months after we illegally invaded a sovereign nation, President Bush gave the commencement address at the University of South Carolina. At this time, Michael Berg was working with the Carolina Peace Resource Center (CPRC), another organization sticking their necks out to improve their community and the state of the country by informing the people of the issues at hand. The CPRC organized an alternative graduation where they gave out packet constitutions instead of diplomas. Very few professors would participate though Berg says Jim Clyburn agreed to be at the event (who instead, according to Berg, traveled with President Bush in Air Force One).

Again, this is not a right or left sided argument. This is our country, the things that are being done as we politely wave on. If we don’t do something soon we may lose that very arm. South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has asked about the Iraq War, “When does compassion, when does morality, when does caring come in?” I ask the same question about the “American situation” as a whole. For a country supposedly founded on Christian morality we are in bad shape when even elected leaders of Christianity and the church cannot recognize the morals we so proudly tout.

The truth is the truth and we can either face it or fail in our pursuit of freedom. Some may call it paranoia but as famed thinker William S. Burroughs once pointed out, “Sometimes paranoia’s just having all the facts.”

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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