American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

DEFINING CIVIL LIBERTIES| 91

Defi ning Civil Liberties

The terms civil rights and civil liberties are often used interchangeably, but there
are some important diff erences (see Nuts & Bolts 4.1). To oversimplify a bit, civil
liberties are about freedom and civil rights are about equality. (For more on this
distinction, see Chapter 13.)
Civil liberties are deeply rooted in our key idea that politics is confl ictual and
that it involves trade-off s. When the Supreme Court rules on civil liberties cases,
it must balance an individual’s freedom with the government’s interests and the
public good. For example, in the war on terrorism the government has had to bal-
ance civil liberties with national security. Many Americans have been concerned
that government surveillance invades people’s privacy and that the treatment of
suspected terrorists violates due process rights;^5 at the same time, most Ameri-
cans would probably agree that in some instances these measures might be war-
ranted. For example, if a nuclear device were set to detonate in Manhattan in three
hours, few would insist on protecting the civil liberties of someone who knew
where the bomb was hidden. Once we recognize that our freedoms are not abso-
lute, it becomes a question of how they are balanced against other interests, such
as national security, public safety, and public health.
Along with balancing competing interests, court rulings must also draw the
lines to defi ne the limits of permissible conduct by the government or by an individ-
ual in the context of a specifi c civil liberty. For example, despite the First Amend-
ment’s protection of freedom of speech, it is obvious that some speech absolutely
cannot be permitted; the classic example is falsely yelling “fi re!” in a crowded the-
ater. Therefore, the courts must interpret the law to draw the line between pro-
tected speech and impermissible speech. The same challenge applies to other civil
liberties such as the establishment of religion, freedom of the press, freedom from
illegal searches, or other due process rights.

DEFINE “CIVIL LIBERTIES,”

AND EXPLAIN HOW THE

BILL OF RIGHTS CAME TO

APPLY TO THE STATES

DISTINGUISHING CIVIL LIBERTIES FROM CIVIL RIGHTS

Civil Liberties Civil Rights

Basic freedoms and liberties Protection from discrimination

Rooted in the Bill of Rights and the “due process”

protection of the Fourteenth Amendment

Rooted in laws and the “equal

protection” clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment

Primarily restrict what the government can do to

you (“Congress shall make no law... abridging the

freedom of speech”)

Protect you from discrimination

both by the government and by

individuals

NUTS & bolts

4.1