"I do believe that we must act to defend ourselves," said law school Dean Gene Nichol in a speech sponsored by the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense. "(But) can we defend our freedom without giving up our freedom and therefore surrendering to our adversaries?"
Nichol said the most important freedoms the government must protect are First Amendment freedoms. He said in previous conflicts, such as the Civil War and World War I, some freedoms were restricted.
"This is no time -- and it may be the worst time -- to curtail freedom of speech, of expression or of the press," Nichol said.
He added that it would be against American ideals to repress people's dissenting opinions. "The freedom of speech is the most necessary for unpopular expression," Nichol said. "It cannot be that if one raises questions about a massive assault on the Taliban, then you are in favor of terrorism."
Congress must take the initiative in preventing laws that restrict civil liberties, Nichol said. "We could have worries about those in Congress who attempt to give the government increased power in the wake of the tragedies but do not argue for sunset clauses to decrease these powers when the situation goes away," he said.
Nichol said government officials sometimes advance their own goals by passing laws restricting civil liberties during tragedies or conflicts and not repealing them. An example of this occurred after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in which laws were passed allowing the federal government to detain people thought to be "suspicious."
Nichol said some members of the government are now attempting to extend the government's power even further, allowing the unlimited detention of noncitizen residents. "This move, both in terms of rejecting habeas corpus and having different laws for noncitizens, is dangerous," Nichol said.
Racial profiling is another problem Americans must be careful to avoid, he said. "We have worked very hard to say that the identifying factors are not race, sex, sexual orientation or national origin," Nichol said. "If we radically violate equality, then we are turning our back on what we say we are."
Although he said he could not definitely predict what was going to occur, Nichol said he believes some civil liberties might be challenged by legislation. But he said the American public is aware of the danger. "I have some hope that the legal system and American people will resist restrictions on civil liberties that we have seen in the past."
