The framers of our Constitution understood the dangers of unbridled government surveillance. They knew that democracy could flourish only in spaces free from government snooping and interference, and they put restraints on government overreaching in the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. . . . These protections require, at a minimum, a neutral arbiter - a magistrate - standing between the government's endless desire for information and the citizens' desires for privacy.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the need for privacy protections against government surveillance to preserve democracy.
Elizabeth Holtzman's quote highlights the foresight of the framers of the Constitution who recognized that unchecked government surveillance poses a threat to democracy. The essential message is that the right to privacy and the presence of an impartial authority are vital to balancing governmental power and individual freedoms, as outlined in the Fourth Amendment.
In practice
In a speech about government overreach, this quote can be used to stress the importance of civil liberties.
Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant funds demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.
For the United States, supporting international development is more than just an expression of our compassion. It is a vital investment in the free, prosperous, and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interest.
Of course the Republicans have long wanted to privatize Social Security and destroy it. But Social Security has been the most important and valuable social program in the history of the United States.
For what were all these country patriots born? To hunt, and vote, and raise the price of corn?
It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.
Of course, there is no question that Libya - and the world - will be better off with Gaddafi out of power. I, along with many other world leaders, have embraced that goal, and will actively pursue it through non-military means. But broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake.
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