It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11 (Nation Books) [Paperback]

Danny Goldberg (Editor), Victor Goldberg (Editor), Robert Greenwald (Editor), Janeane Garofalo (Preface), Cornel West (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Nation Books | Publication Date: August 28, 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The dozens of contributors to this volume range from journalists and writers (Michael Moore, Michael Isikoff) to members of Congress (Maxine Waters, Jerrold Nadler) to current and former ACLU leaders (Nadine Strossen, Ira Glasser) to cartoonists Matt Groening and David Rees. But perhaps most original here are the personal testimonies of civil rights violations, such as the tale of the Mustafas, a Palestinian-American father and son, both American citizens, detained (the son for 67 days) on the baseless suspicion of having "altered" their passports.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

9/11 The attacks of September 11 precipitated a range of governmental actions in the name of national security that, while supported by most Americans, alarmed a significant vocal minority: those people who worry about civil liberties. These dissenting voices are collected in their many and varied forms in this book edited by three publishers at RDV Books who have connections to the ACLU. It should not be surprising that many of the articles are by past and present leaders of or lawyers for the ACLU. But this eclectic mix of rather short (mostly two- to three-page) pieces essays, interviews, cartoons, a poem, congressional testimony, monologs, and personal accounts from historians, lawyers, representatives, a movie director, a singer-songwriter, and others demonstrate the complexity and fragility of civil liberties in a crisis environment. While the quality of the pieces is uneven, the book's greatest weakness is that, with the exception of an entry by Rep. Bob Barr, all the writing comes from thinkers on the Left. There should have been greater attention paid to balancing the opinions. Despite this shortcoming, this lively book should be added to the collections of larger public libraries. With a foreword by Cornell West. Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (August 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560255226
• ISBN-13: 978-1560255222
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,389,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liberty, Freedom and Justice for All......., November 10, 2002

By 

R. Epstein "asanisimasa" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11 (Hardcover)

...... is what this country is supposed to stand for. This book clearly shows how these ideals as well as the democracy which made this country great have all been swept under the carpet in the name of 'safety". This book contains numerous articles written by liberals AND conservatives alike, many which review what terrors have resulted in the name of 'tyranny over democracy' throughout history, in this country and in other countries. Terror is a fitting word because there we can see a more subtle yet ultimately just as dangerous form of 'terrorism'. Not only does it effect the thousands of people who have their lives destroyed by injustice, it also jeopardizes all our lives, since we have relinquished our power as Americans to one individual. America IS Americans (remember "by the people, for the people"?), and this book beautifully encompasses this theme. It isn't a question of left-wing or right-wing. Over three thousand people of all political persuasions, all religions, and all ethnic backgrounds died together in the terrible incident on 9/11. Most but not all were Americans. This book enables us to see the myriad ways in which the terror of 9/11 is still continuing. If the America of 'liberty freedom and justice for all' is destroyed, then Bin Laden and his followers have won. What we stand for means nothing if we sweep it under the carpet when it is most needed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The fear factor, February 16, 2004

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11 (Nation Books) (Paperback)

Every dictator recognises the power of fear. It's the chief rationale for controlling dissent. Justice for minorities can be shelved. The most blatant acts of government can be excused in the name of "security". This collection of essays by a wide spectrum of lawyers, writers, observers demonstrates how the Bush regime is using fear to consolidate power and undermine the democratic traditions of the United States. It has happened in the past, several of the writers note - the Alien and Sedition Acts of John Adams' administration, the Palmer Raids of World War I and the Japanese herded into concentration camps under the Roosevelt administration. While these events set a precedent, none reached the intensity nor had the far-reaching social impact the current regime has instituted since 2001-09-11.

The various authors examine the historical roots of stifling dissent in the USA. They explain what prompted governmental repressive acts and how these were implemented. Public reaction was usually swift and expressive, if not originally successful. Ultimately, protest and legal action led to disavowal or rejection of the acts or policies. With the Bush regime having declared the "war on terror" to be long-term, if not indefinite, note several authors, the new repression will endure and likely intensify. This presents the public with a new challenge. Even the normal, traditional mechanisms of countering repression have been curtailed, almost without the public noticing. This book, incorporating a variety of political orientations, points up the fact that democracy is more fundamental than party. Rights, the authors stress, are an issue of law, not campaigns. In particular, these essayists note, restricting freedoms to improve security is a false idea.

It is clear from this book that the barrage of unconstitutional declarations by the regime are not instrumental in defeating or preventing "terrorist" activities in North America. These directives and policy statements are designed to impose a reactionary, even dictatorial, social and political structure in the United States. The collection is a warning signal both to residents and citizens of that nation and elsewhere to scrunitise carefully any pronouncements deemed to "increase security". Reference to the "porous Northern border" of the United States in the Introduction is a clarion call to Canadians to read this book and follow events here and in the US closely. With the Bush regime applying pressure on various countries to conform to its methods and accept his dictums, we must maintain a wary eye on our neighbour's intrusions.

While the attempt to gain the widest political and social spectrum of writers and commentators to expose the legal terrorism by Bush and Rumsfeld is laudable, the message here is blurred by repetition. We all agree the WTC attacks were "horrific" but the editors might have applied a thesaurus to reduce the number of times the word is used. The incarcerated men and children at Camp X in Guantanamo have no civil rights, and their legal rights have been curtailed by illegal declarations by the Bush regime. One solidly researched and well-written essay on that topic would have sufficed, even if multiple-authored. The same standard might have been applied to some of the other topics. While it's essential to the survival of democracy to be aware of how Bush, Rumsfeld and the rest are shredding the American Constitution, this collection stumbles slightly in the effort. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good collection of thoughtful essays..., November 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11 (Hardcover)

A wide variety of contributors make this book a useful counter to the rush towards war abroad and away from civil liberties in this country. Some are funny, some tragic, but all the pieces are thoughtful and thought-provoking.