Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the issue of violating civil liberties for national security has been widely discussed and argued about.
There was the issue of the no-fly list which banned certain people from being able to board airplanes.
Then there was the debate about the government looking at what library books people were checking out.
Now comes the news that in 2002 President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to use wiretaps on residents to monitor phone calls and e-mails without a court order.
Bush defended the authorization by saying it is necessary to prevent further terrorist attacks and protect Americans, just like he defended other measures that monitor what people are doing and who they are dealing with.
Bush said the program is intended to intercept phone calls from known members of al-Qaida and, to some extent, listening to what "suspected terrorists" inside or outside the United States are talking about is important.
But because the wiretapping has been going on in relative secret, it brings up the concern of how far the government is willing to go in the war against terrorism.
Like no-fly lists, which often contain common names that can ban innocent people from flying, wiretapping can hurt people who are caught in the government redtape.
Bush claims wiretapping is only being used on known terrorists associated with al-Qaida, but what about people who are just suspected of terrorist activity?
In Michigan, it was revealed in August by the American Civil Liberties Union that several groups that operated on campus, such as Direct Action and the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, were brought up by the FBI in a meeting about terrorist activities.
The document didn't state and it hasn't been proven that those groups were involved in terrorism.
This is an example of how the government might choose to abuse its power by labeling a group just to be able to monitor actions it otherwise couldn't.
Whether or not they could be wiretapped is a question that should be asked.
When the government is monitoring its own citizens, and doing so in secret, it's necessary to ask if it's constitutional and legal and should be carefully examined.
Bush said the purpose of the war in Iraq is to bring freedom and democracy to the Iraqis. What a shame it would be if those same things were eroded in America in the pursuit of terrorism.
A line must be drawn somewhere between defending America and defending Americans' civil liberties. If we don't draw it now, we might not get another chance.
