Rights vs. Public Safety after 9/11

America in the Age of Terrorism

Edited by Amitai Etzioni, Jason H. Marsh

Not available to order

Publication date:

01 September 2004

Length of book:

200 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780585463865

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the tension between civil rights and public safety has dominated public discourse. On issues ranging from racial profiling to military tribunals, Americans have had to ask whether it is possible for the United States to defend itself against terrorism without violating the values and principles that lie at the heart of its democratic order. In Rights vs. Public Safety after 9/11, some of the nation's leading legal experts and social critics confront this question head-on. The contributors offer measured, often communitarian, approaches to topics such as the changes in United States immigration policy after September 11th, the practical and moral difficulties of racial profiling, the ethical dilemmas of an emergency response to a bioterrorist attack, and the role of the government in promoting national service. This balanced compilation of essays highlights where government will need to expand its authority in the fight against terrorism, where it risks overreaching, and how this new era might strengthen American society.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Rights and Responsibilities, Post 9/11
Chapter 2 The Basics
Chapter 3 A Clear and Present Danger
Chapter 4 A Vision for Uniting and Strengthening America
Chapter 5 We Can Strike a Balance on Civil Liberties
Chapter 6 Antiterrorism Tools: A Summary of the USA Patriot Act and the Order on Military Tribunals
Chapter 7 The Truth About Our Liberties
Chapter 8 The Specifics
Chapter 9 Immigration
Chapter 10 A Privilege or a Right?
Chapter 11 Let's Fight Terrorism, Not the Constitution
Chapter 12 Confusing Freedom with License-Licenses Terrorism, Not Freedom
Chapter 13 Racial Profiling
Chapter 14 Discrimination We're Afraid to Be Against
Chapter 15 A (Potentially) Useful Tool
Chapter 16 Freedom of the Press vs. National Security
Chapter 17 Military Secrets and the First Amendment
Chapter 18 Patriots and Professionals: Journalists as Responsible Citizens
Chapter 19 Public Health
Chapter 20 Public Health in the Age of Bioterrorism: A Dialogue
Chapter 21 A Just War?
Chapter 22 What We're Fighting For: A Letter from America
Chapter 23 This is Not Our War: A Letter from United States Citizens to Friends in Europe
Chapter 24 National Service
Chapter 25 Putting Patriotism into Practice
Chapter 26 A New Draft for a New Time
Chapter 27 Citizenship and Sacrifice
Chapter 28 American Society after September 11
Chapter 29 A Stronger Nation
Chapter 30 The New Public Spirit
Chapter 31 Government to the Rescue
Chapter 32 Index
Chapter 33 About the Contributors

This collection covers most of the important issues about civil liberties and homeland security, uses articulate spokesmen, provides reasonable balance, and is succinct. Overall, this book would be useful for introductory level college or high school civics....