Dangerous Means=Ends

A Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed piece by Erwin Chemerinsky, The Constitution's message: Not all means are justified, cites an apt warning from Justice Brandeis in his condemnation of warrantless spying:

Since 9/11, the Bush administration has engaged in unprecedented violations of liberties, including approving torture and suspending the Constitution through indefinite detentions without judicial review. Each time the violations of rights have come to light, the administration has defended its actions by saying they were essential for national security, they were technically legal, and those who revealed the misconduct and criticize it endanger the country. . . . Not only do these arguments have no merit. They miss the crucial point: The Constitution is a reminder that the ends don't justify some means, and warrantless spying on Americans' conversations just isn't acceptable.

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Early in the 20th century, in a case ironically involving wiretapping, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis remarked that the greatest threat to liberty will come from government officials claiming to be acting for noble purposes. He explained that people born to liberty know to resist the tyranny of despots. The insidious threat to liberty, he said, would come from well-meaning people of zeal with little understanding of the Constitution. Louis Brandeis did not know George W. Bush or those in his administration, but he could not have selected better words if he had.