Un-patriotic?

I know my poll has one more day left of voting, but I wanted to cover the Patriot Act a little more before this blog comes to a close.

The USA Patriot Act was renewed on March 9, 2006. Basically, this act allows the FBI and CIA to seek ‘confidential’ records without having just cause. All they have to tell a judge is that it is a part of an on-going investigation (Schneider, 2002, p. 86). Terrorism is a threat in today’s society, I feel everyone believes that, but to allow the government to essentially spy on anyone they want anytime they want? Seriously?

How does this affect libraries you ask? Well, as I’m sure most of you reading this already know, library patrons feel comfortable and safe in these facilities because they believe (as they should) that their privacy will not be violated. However, with the implementation of this act, should the FBI come in, librarians are legally bound to cooperate with them. People should not be afraid to check out a book for fear of flagging the FBI and launching an ‘investigation’ into their lives. “The ability to investigate ideas, without ‘the spectre of a government agent ...look[ing] over the shoulder of everyone who reads,’ is a cornerstone of democracy” (Mart, 2004, p. 449). The library should be a place free from surveillance of this kind. People should be able to access whatever information they wish, without fear.

The idea of someone monitoring my every move scares me. It gives me the creeps that people at work can monitor my every move on the internet, let alone the government. I’m sure this act makes people think twice before they check out that book they need for a school report merely for the fact that it’s about the Mid-East. As US citizens were are raised to believe that we can access information freely, without government interference, but maybe we need to reassess our thinking. This is something not at all uncommon in other countries, why shouldn’t it be the same for the US? We do have that little document called the Constitution, but I mean, who reads that?

Librarians (or anyone else for that matter) that disagree with the provisions of the Patriot Act should not be considered “un-patriotic.” Nor should they be thought to be “supporting terrorism” as former Attorney General John Ashcroft would like the public to believe (Jaeger, 2007, p. 852). In fact, I feel that quite the opposite is the case. “We as librarians can be true patriots-by doing what we can to protect the Constitution and the people we serve” (Schneider, 2002, p. 86).

The ACLU has challenged the Patriot Act unsuccessfully. It is nearly impossible to bring suit for invasion of privacy if people don’t know they’re being spied on. We can only hope for vast changes in this policy come the election in November.

Check out the ACLU's site: http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/whereitstands.html
and the White House's stand: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/patriotact/

Jaeger, P. T. (2007). Information policy, information access, and democratic participation: The national and international implications of the Bush administration's information politics. Government Information Quarterly, 24(4), 840-859.

Mart, S. N. (2004, Summer). Protecting the lady from Toledo: Post-USA PATRIOT Act electronic surveillance at the library. Law Library Journal, 96(3), 449-473.

Schneider, K. G. (2002, March 1). The Patriot act: Last refuge of a scoundrel. American Libraries, 33(3), 86.