3 of 3

Americans have, since 9/11, shown "an astonishing faith" in technology to enhance the government's ability to fight terrorism, said David Lyon, a sociologist at Queens University, Ontario. He calls such faith misplaced and possibly dangerous.

Lyon, author of Surveillance After September 11 and Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life, said new technology allows government to monitor individuals in public places and create behavioral profiles based on their spending, travel, and purchases. "We are seeing the growth of cultures of suspicion, where not only law enforcement agencies, but ordinary people, are encouraged to distrust and spy on their neighbors," Lyon said.

Ashcroft said the government respects and is indeed fighting for freedom. "It is God's gift to humanity," he said. "It is the terrorists who assault this."

For now, most evangelical leaders are cautiously willing to give the embattled attorney general the benefit of the doubt. "The attorney general is responsive to our concerns," said Waters of Eagle Forum. "It looks like [Justice officials] have slowed down preparing Patriot II."

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The leaked draft proposition for Patriot II is available online.

Related news coverage of Patriot II includes:

A tiny town shouts 'Whoa!' to Patriot Act—The Seattle Times (August 10, 2003)

Senator Wants to Limit Patriot Act—dc.interent.com (August 4, 2003)

Transcript: John Ashcroft on Fox News Sunday—Fox News (August 3, 2003)

Backing for basic freedoms returning to pre-9/11 levels—Freedom Forum (July 31, 2003)

Patriot Act losing support—The Washington Post (July 30, 2003)

Patriot Act II, and Means to Weigh It, Emerge in Bits—The Village Voice (June 18, 2003)

New anti-terrorism bill threatens civil liberties—Pioneer Press (April 4, 2003)

Patriot II: The Sequel—Why It's Even Scarier than the First Patriot Act—FindLaw (Feb. 17, 2003)

A Chilly Response to 'Patriot II'—Wired (Feb. 2, 2003)

Following September 11, Christianity Today looked at what the new war on terrorism would mean for global religious liberty.

first page |  3 of 3

share this page

September 2003, Vol. 47, No. 9