The Statism Meme

[Tim May]

OK, so I watch a lot of t.v., or at least have t.v. dramas on a lot.

I'm struck by how many of them this year treat civil liberties as gone, either as old-fashioned or as just plain ignorable.

* On the episodes of "Law and Order" (three different versions weekly, often repeated on other nights), the cops routinely roust citizens, shop owners, hotel clerks, etc. Warrants are the exception, and when they are produced, they are merely waved in front of the targets. Whether this represents reality is not the point--the point is that the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments are treated as technicalities to be violated at will. Cops, prosecutors, and judges violating the Constitution are not sanctioned. Those being violated never fight back, whether with shotguns or their own lawyers.

* I just watched a new series called "Miracles." A planeload of passengers is held without charges, without arrest warrants. One passenger is simply taken away by the NSA because he may have information of use to them someday. Again, maybe not plausible, but this shows the meme Americans are becoming conditioned to accept.

* On one often execrable show called "Judging Amy," "Child Protection" workers are shown bursting into homes and apartments, sans warrants of course. One memorable line was "Yes, we can enter your home without a warrant...because we're not the police."

* Even t.v. commercials are spreading the meme that Big Brother is our friend. G.E. has one such commercial where doctors are told: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just type in a name and see every medical treatment your patient has ever received?...with G.E.'s new software, you'll be able to." (paraphrase of their actual commercial)

* "Hate speech" is presented on these cop and lawyer shows as being ipso facto illegal. "These people think the Constitution gives them the freedom to spew hate."

* Nearly all of the programs present the Internet as a place which needs government control. The lawyers and cops editorialize (actually, the script writers, of course) about how the "Wild West" atmosphere is a haven for terrorists, gun nuts, pornographers, and Islamic militants. Various plots on the court shows have involved ISPs being forced to spy on customers.

* "9/11 changed everything" is heard at least weekly. The judges cite it to justify unconstitutional measures, the prosecutors use it to justify warrantless searches and coerced admissions.

Yes, I understand this is all fiction. Well, some of the scripts are based on actual events, including coerced confessions, warrantless searches, "sneak and peek" wiretaps, concentration camps in Cuba, etc. That so many of these popular programs have themes as I've described tells us what to expect.

The statism meme is growing under hothouse conditions.


--Tim May, Corralitos, California
Quote of the Month: "It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes; perhaps there are no true libertarians in times of terrorist attacks." --Cathy Young, "Reason Magazine," both enemies of liberty.