What are civil liberties?
What are civil liberties?
Civil liberties are fundamental freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution, most notably in the Bill of Rights. These freedoms protect citizens from unjust action or overreach by the government. Many are familiar with the freedoms of the First Amendment (speech, assembly, religion, press, and association). Civil liberties in the United States also include the right to remain silent in a police investigation or a court trial, voting, and protection against unreasonable searches of private property.
Civil liberties vs. civil rights
Civil liberties protect the freedom of all citizens to do specific things without interference from the government. In contrast, civil rights protect people from discrimination based on a set of shared identity characteristics (race, gender, etc.). For example, the right to practice Judaism in America is a civil liberty. The right not to be denied employment based on that practice is a civil right. Civil liberties and civil rights protect us from the government; civil rights protect us from one another.
Why are we talking about civil liberties?
Civil liberties have always existed in some tension with the responsibility of democratic governments to make laws for the collective welfare and to protect their citizens. Privacy is a classic example. How much should society preference an individual’s right to privacy at the potential expense of the government’s ability to monitor for violent threats? Getting this balance right is tough and has much to do with the trustworthiness and restraint of those holding governmental power.
Recent changes and challenges to civil liberties, however, are raising new and immediate questions. Consider the following examples from just the past few weeks:
The Department of Homeland Security quietly removed policies from its handbook preventing the surveillance and investigation of Americans based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Effectively, it is now legal for federal law enforcement to surveil LGBTQ individuals merely because of who they are.
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), a bipartisan, Senate-confirmed commission that worked to balance terrorism prevention with American citizens’ interest in being free from government surveillance, has been dismantled.
President Trump signed an executive order targeting DEI policies in government and private entities, which a federal judge has temporarily blocked after finding the broad and vague language seeks to police and punish the ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their entirety, undermining Americans’ freedom of expression and belief.
Why does this matter?
It should be noted that all presidential administrations make changes to the Executive Branch. There is nothing inherently concerning about that. These recent changes, however, taken alongside executive actions to eliminate programs to enforce civil rights laws and “eradicate anti-Christian bias,” create alarming pathways for the government to restrict the civil liberties of vulnerable communities and its own political opponents, and reasonable fear that it may do so.
We know what happens when civil liberties are ignored or attacked by our government, and we are almost uniformly ashamed of these moments in our shared history. Japanese internment during World War II, the FBI’s surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Joseph McCarthy’s crackdown during the “Red Scare” – these are not moments we wish to revisit. And yet, the examples above tip us dangerously toward uncheckable government power.
Civil liberties are foundations of a democratic society. Guaranteed protections from the government to think, speak, organize, and live without fear of undue surveillance are vital to our concept of freedom.
What can be done?
The beautiful thing about living in a democracy is that something can always be done. In this case, here are a few things to consider:
Learn → Take a moment to research how civil liberties and civil rights are protected in your home state. Are there state-level opportunities for discussion, advocacy, or engagement?
Speak → It is critical that a broad coalition of nonprofits as well as business and community leaders speak out whenever civil liberties are threatened in their area or industry. Consider engaging local leaders and groups in ongoing conversations about how to protect democratic principles and each other. Initiating these conversations in advance of an incident can help folks mobilize quickly to ensure a broad audience sees a united pushback to government overreach. Public opinion is vitally important in these moments and communicating quickly is imperative. Check out an example of how we’ve done this and then see our template library to get started.
Act → Common Ground USA has compiled this list of 50 actions any American can take right now to help shore up our democratic principles and civil liberties. Take a look and pick one today.
