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21 March, 2003
Patriotism, Civil Rights and Media
These are strange days indeed, when the word "patriot" is used to name a law that seems in such opposition to fundamental rights guaranteed by our nation.
 Click the graphic to read a report about "Patriot II" and download a .pdf version of the draft legislation from the Center for Public Integrity. |
Congress is currently working on a sequel legislation, Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, already being called "Patriot II," which by the looks of a draft that was recently published online by the Center for Public Integrity, will take even more drastic steps in the war against terrorism.
Now that war is being waged again against Iraq, the word "patriot" is even richer with symbolism, marking the line between "us" and "them" in blood. I thought of President Bush's post-9/11 threat when he launched the war against terrorism: "You're either for us or against us."
The President will think I'm against him, but I feel I'm being patriotic by having concerns about the war, and about both Patriot acts.
Dr. David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor, warned the Center for Public Integrity after reading the draft legislation that Patriot II "would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive 'suspicion,' create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups."
The Bush administration already has a history of expanding enforcement and intelligence gathering authority, so that wasn't surprising; the proposed DNA database based on "suspicion" was definitely disturbing; but the kicker for me was the possible stripping of American citizenship from people because of their association with certain groups, even if they are groups that have been deemed "terrorist." This is reminiscent of the McCarthy-era "Red scare" when people were persecuted for their mere association with communist organizations.
| The legislation eerily echoes the efforts by anti-Japanese organizations in California during the 1920s to take away citizenship from the Nisei generation of immigrants. |
But worse, it eerily echoes the efforts by anti-Japanese organizations in California during the 1920s to take away citizenship from the Nisei generation of immigrants. These exclusionist groups had already successfully prevented the Issei generation from becoming naturalized citizens, and systematically passed laws that prevented Japanese immigrants from owning, leasing or even share-cropping farmland for their living. Now they wanted to take away the immigrants' future hopes in their US-born children, who were citizens by birth.
The Japanese American Citizens League was formed during that era of racial hatred and prejudice, in 1929. The JACL is the country's oldest Asian Pacific Islander civil rights organization (the Organization of Chinese Americans, a group the JACL works closely with, was formed in 1973). Although it has been criticized - and rightly so - for some of its positions and actions over the decades, the JACL takes a stand every day on issues of civil rights and prejudice against Americans of all ethnic backgrounds. In the hours following the 9/11 attacks, the JACL was watchful of hate crimes against people of middle eastern heritage.
It has quietly worked behind the scenes on even seemingly minor incidents. Because of the JACL, both the Miami Herald and the Orlando Sun-Sentinel have agreed to refuse advertising from business that use the word "Jap" in their name (the word is inexplicably still used throughout Florida). The JACL has also been involved in negotiations - along with African American organizations - to urge eBay to educate the Web site's users about the use of racist terminology in its online auction listings and descriptions. eBay this week agreed to have popup warnings appear whenever users posted racially offensive words.
The JACL is continuing its efforts to force the resignation of North Carolina Congressman Howard Coble from his leadership of a crime and homeland security subcommittee because of his comments approving Japanese American internment during World War II.
 It's an old-fashioned logo, but the mission of the Japanese American Citizens League is unfortunately still as important as it was 74 years ago, when the organization was founded. |
And now, the JACL has announced it is going to mount a legal challenge to the Patriot Act because of its infringement of civil rights.
I'm proud to be a member of the JACL, and urge others to join the organization and support its programs. These are difficult times for non-profits, and the JACL is no exception - its belt is so tight it's about to snap, and it accomplishes an incredible amount of great work with the tiniest staff and slimmest budget. All of the organization's resources are being spent on initiatives such as the fight against the Patriot Act.
The same goes for the Pacific Citizen, the bi-monthly national newspaper of the JACL. The PC is the only national media venue for APA news, and it is sent to every JACL member as well as non-member subscribers. It reports not just on JACL news, but it is often the only media outlet that covers the stories about Japanese Americans and other Asians in America that the "mainstream" media considers unimportant.
The staff will continue to cover these issues, but the Pacific Citizen can't do this job without help.
That's why I'm honored to be the chair of the PC's editorial board - I believe in the newspaper and its important in our community. And I'm asking readers to help the PC by supporting its Annual Spring Campaign.
It's costly to publish a newspaper in the new millennium. Paper prices are astronomical; expensive digital technology and communications are a key resource for any news media; computers and networks need constant attention and upgrading.
Staffing is also a major cost for most publications, but I can promise you the PC has a skeleton staff that works as much out of passion and commitment as they do for their remarkably low salaries. Readers of the PC are fortunate to have the staff as our "eyes and ears" for the news that affects us.
There's too much news out there that needs to be reported. As John Tateishi, the national executive director of the JACL, said of the Patriot Act in a recent issue of the PC, "It's one of those bills, after you read it you think, 'Oh my god … this is incredible.' As a civil rights organization, it's imperative that we challenge … the legitimacy of the Act."
And it's also imperative that the Pacific Citizen gives voice to this challenge before us.
You can join the JACL via the organization's Web site or send donations to the Pacific Citizen at 7 Cupania Circle, Monterey Park, California, 91755. The draft of the "Patriot Act II" legislation is available online from the Center for Public Integrity.