It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11

A collection of political writings on the Patriot Act and its consequences traces the bill's passage six weeks after September 11 and its compromises to citizen privacy, sharing the perspectives of such individuals as Ira Glasser, Michael Moore, and Paul Weyrich. Reprint.

Six weeks after 9/11, the USA Patriot Act was rushed through Congress. This 300-page bill gave sweeping new powers to the FBI, CIA, and Immigration and Naturalization Service, permitting them to wiretap telephone conversations, read E-mails, and arrest, detain, and deport suspicious individuals. It's a Free Country examines the frightening consequences of the Patriot Act. Voices from across the political spectrum are represented, from civil libertarians of the left-Ira Glasser, Howard Zinn, Tom Hayden, and Michael Moore-to conservative critics of overreaching government, including former U. S. Representative Bob Barr of Georgia and Republican activist Paul Weyrich. Also included are original works by Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, and Matt Groening. As Cornel West writes in his foreword: "The best way to pay homage to those innocent fellow human beings who were viciously killed on September 11, 2001 ...is to insure that their loved ones-as well as ourselves-live in an American democracy forever vigilant in its quest for freedom, and forever vigorous in its efforts to secure our precious liberties alongside our safety. " A thoughtful and timely anthology, this edition has been completely updated.