I’m still plowing my way through the provisions of the Patriot Act relevant to my little bailiwick in Administrative Law. As I’ve read along, I’ve begun noticing a sort of echo in the back of my mind. I’ve seen this before, albeit in much more archaic language, but where?
And then I thought I had it, and took a break to Google my hunch. Bullseye! They are much shorter and more succinct (I think War and Peace is arguably more succinct), but the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 bear a remarkable resemblence to the Patriot Act.
My first reaction to that was “don’t we ever learn?” But then I thought about it again. And I realized that even though we do have spasms of xenophobia, eventually we get past them. The Alien and Sedition Acts disappeared. The signs in windows in the 19th century reading “No Irish need apply” disappeared. The KKK flared but was ultimately discredited, as was the House Committe on UnAmerican Activities. The miscegenation laws were declared unconsitutional and repealed. That happened as recently as 1974. I hope the Defense of Marriage Act and its ilk meet a similar fate soon.
It takes the stubborn voices of courageous people to make these derailments of justice unacceptable, and the time it takes is damned uncomfortable to live through. But it does happen eventually, and it does not require a military coup to make it happen. I just hope this time the pendulum swings back toward moderation and sanity sooner rather than later.