Year: 1997
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: A declaration of war, now as at other moments in our national history, AEI.invites us to disregard the normal rules of conduct under the imperative of a higher goal assumed to trump all other considerations.For example, Abraham Lincoln suspended the fundamental right to the Writ of Habeas Corpus, citing the exigencies of the Civil War as a rationale for the summary imprisonment of perceived enemies. 1 During World War II, the majority of Americans defended or ignored the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, complacent in their trust of leaders claiming all means necessary in the paramount goal of national security.2 Today, a similar urgency supporting racially targeting Arab Americans and those of Middle Eastern descent is being propagated in the name of national security following the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.3 The same logic of urgency and exception, that same projection of national security into the domain of individual freedom, structures the contemporary war on drugs.People throughout the country accept the idea that incarcerating fellow citizens in service of a higher goal is justified, and even patriotic.As a result, almost two million people fill U.S. prisons and jails due largely to harsh sentencing laws for drug crimes, especially low-level nonviolent offenses.4 This vast American Gulag ranks as the 35th most populous state, just surpassing Nevada's 1.99 million residents.5 While incarceration rates for non-drug crimes have remained re-* J.D.,
Author: Bertram/Blachman
Institution: Villanova University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W867768439