One of the most surprising results of the September 11 terrorist attacks is the sharp increase in the number of Americans who now trust the federal
government. According to a Washington Post poll released on September 27, 64
percent of Americans now "trust the government in Washington to do what is
right" either "just about always" or "most of the time." The number of
people who trust the government to do the right thing has doubled since last
year -- and is now more than three times higher than in 1994.
The Washington Post interviewed a 26-year-old New Jersey high-school math
teacher who proclaimed: "I have a renewed respect for the federal
government, absolutely. People see that the government is one of the only
avenues we have to get some things done. It puts renewed hope about the
government and their capabilities to do things." The Post ran a photo of a
22-year-old woman praying on a hillside across from the Pentagon. The lady
told a reporter that she "puts her trust in God and government -- that's all
I can do."
The terrorist attacks could not have succeeded if several federal agencies
had not dropped the ball. Yet, the bigger the catastrophe, the more
credulous many people seem to become. The worse government failed to protect
people in the past, the more certain people become that government will
successfully protect them -- next time. John Bartz, a highly-respected Ohio
psychiatrist, observed that this reaction is akin to "that of abused
children, who become more dependent on their abusive parents the more they
are abused."
Many liberals expect the terrorist atrocities could fundamentally alter
Americans' political thinking. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam
said: "I think there is the potential that September 11 will turn out to be
a turning point for civic America.... There could be some good coming from
it if it causes us to become ... more aware of the obligations we have to
other people and more open-minded about the role of government."
A Wall Street Journal front page article on September 26 vivified the new
era of opportunity in Washington: "In just two weeks, the terrorist attacks
have turned a two-decade trend toward less government into a headlong rush
for more." Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland, in an article headlined
"Government's Comeback," declared, "Bush and his congressional allies must
... return government closer to the center of American life, not whittle
away further at its powers and funding." Hoagland asserted that, before the
terrorists' attack, "government was rapidly losing its relevance, its reach,
and its right to make demands on the purses and practices of private
citizens."
Perhaps Hoagland has been too busy doing "Big Picture" articles to notice
that federal revenues have soared over the last decade. Nor have there been
any reports of the Federal Register suffering from anorexia. The rumors of
Big Government's demise are a hoax to make people believe they have suffered
from a shortage -- rather than an overdose -- of government in recent years.
Wall Street Journal columnist Al Hunt, in an article headlined "Government
to the Rescue," called for "a moratorium on government-bashing" along with a
sweeping expansion of government spending and regulation. Hunt conceded: "To
be sure, there always are dangers in bigger government. Congress and the
press must play a critical oversight role."
But Congress and the Washington press corps have consistently done a worse
job overseeing "Big Government" than the CIA and FBI have done keeping an
eye on foreign terrorists. Hunt favors a blanket expansion of government
even though there is no reason to expect archaic checks-and-balances to
prevent fresh government abuses.
The new enthusiasm for government threatens to become a steamroller that
crushes constitutional rights. The Justice Department has submitted an
anti-terrorism bill to Congress. Yet Attorney General John Ashcroft admitted
that the September 11 attacks might not have been prevented even if the
Justice Department got all the power it seeks from Congress.
A few of the specific expanded powers the Justice Department seeks are
common-sense fine-tunings of existing laws which can be granted with little
threat to public safety. Others -- such as the expansive definition of
terrorist and the restrictions on the use of encryption -- must be
vigorously resisted by friends of freedom.
At a time when Americans are being urged to put their faith in government,
we must not forget the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. John Adams wrote in
1772: "There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government
ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public
liberty." Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1799, "Free government is founded in
jealousy, not confidence.... Let no more be heard of confidence in men, but
bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitutions."
To blindly trust government is to automatically vest it with excessive
power. Americans must not let the defense against terrorists subvert the
bulwarks of freedom. We owe it to both our forefathers and progeny not to
squander our constitutional inheritance in a moment of panic.
