The Patriot Act in context

Former speechwriter looks at the history of infringement of U.S. rights

By Kristen Hoverman
The Collegian

In times of national crisis, the courts will always sacrifice constitutional rights for the sake of security, a former presidential speechwriter said Monday.

Craig Smith, faculty trustee for the CSU Board of Trustees, professor of communication studies at CSU Long Beach and former speechwriter for President Gerald Ford, gave a lecture on the Patriot Act in historic context to a crowd of more than 300 students and faculty.

“I was absolutely amazed,” said communications Professor Kevin Ayotte. “It was exciting to see that many students. People need to think critically about the Patriot Act.”

The U.S. Patriot Act of 2001 is a document to prevent and punish terrorism in the United States and around the world, and increases law enforcement investigation tools. This legislation came about after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

“We thought that would be an adequate subject,” Ayotte said. “It’s good to expose students to the infringements on freedom of speech rather than allow our voice to remain silenced. We need to take an active role in society.”

Ayotte requested for his students to attend the lecture.

“I thought that would be consistent with the framework of my class,” Ayotte said. “The purpose of college is active engagement. As members of our civic community we need to think critically about our communication practices and the restrictions on communication practices.

In his lecture, Smith outlined four separate crises in the history of the U.S. and the legislation that resulted from these crises.

“Today I’m here as the head of the center for First Amendment studies,” Smith said. “Students have First Amendment rights. They ought to be aware of those. If there are infringements on those rights they ought to be aware of those as well.”

Smith analyzed four major crises: the Quasi-War with France, the Civil War, World War I and the McCarthy Era, comparing the legislation formed during those time periods to the current crisis affecting the U.S. and the Patriot Act.

“The pattern of the Supreme Court is not to act, or not to act in ways hostile to the First Amendment in times of crises and once everything settles down they go back and they undo it,” Smith said. “The current crisis started on 9/11 and we experienced an attack on the United States by a group called al-Qaida and certain provisions of law were put into effect.

“When the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed in 1798 fist fights broke out in the House of Representatives while they were debating over it,” Smith said. “The Alien and Sedition Acts that were passed under Woodrow Wilson had strong minority opposition. The Patriot Act had almost none.”

Some students said they gained a stronger knowledge of the Patriot Act and how it affects them.
“I didn’t understand the Patriot Act and he was able to explain it to me in an hour,” said one junior student. “We’re here and we should know what’s going on.”

Smith finished the lecture by mentioning current issues surrounding the Patriot Act and how this legislation is being handled.

“Clearly under current circumstances we are in a crisis: we continue to be in a war with terrorists, we are warned every once in a while that something bad is going to happen and the Supreme Court has again been in that mode,” Smith said.

“Until this crisis is ended in some way, I don’t think you’re going to see the Supreme Court loosening the kinds of decisions it makes, returning us to full freedom. When we’re in a crisis, national security trumps First Amendment rights and that’s a lesson we have learned over time.”

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