Discussion 3
I agree with Justice Douglas’s thoughts on free speech. Free speech is the most important founding principle of our country and without it our democracy would not be able to properly function. Without the ability for individuals to freely express their thoughts and ideas, the government would control every aspect of citizens’ lives. Free speech is the single most important value that our democracy was founded on and any restrictions of it, will ultimately lead to a failure of our system of government as we know it.
I believe that privacy can be viewed as being granted by the U.S. constitution. In the fourth amendment, Americans’ privacy is protected by forbidding any unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition, the ninth amendment states there are rights for individuals past the constitution. The tenth amendment could also be interpreted, as it gives all other rights to the states, which depending on the particular state government, could grant a right of privacy to individuals.
In terms of what the U.S. government being justified, I do not personally think it was right to hold him for that long, however, I think that it also was not necessarily unconstitutional. As he was not a U.S. citizen, he was not deprived of any rights the U.S. Constitution gives him, so I do not think he has any rights protected by the U.S. constitution and therefore should not be tried in a civil court.