CONCLUSION| 119While privacy rights may not be as fi rmly grounded in the Constitution as the
freedom of speech or religion, this evolving area of the law has provided important
protections for millions of Americans. These civil liberties also remain among the
most controversial political issues in our nation, contributing to our observation
that politics is confl ictual.
Conclusion
Every day you are likely aff ected by your civil liberties, whether when speaking
in a public place, attending church, being searched at an airport, participating in
a political demonstration, writing or reading an article in your school newspaper,
or being free from illegal police searches in your home. Because civil liberties are
defi ned as those things the government cannot do to us, defi ning our civil liber-
ties is a political process. Often this process is confi ned to the courts; but on many
issues—including free speech, freedom of the press, pornography, criminal rights,
abortion, and gun control—these debates take place in the broader political world
where the process involves balancing competing interests and drawing lines by
interpreting and applying the law. For example, debates over how to balance
national security and civil liberties—whether newspapers should publish stories
about classifi ed programs that may threaten civil liberties; whether government
surveillance powers should be streng thened to fi ght terrorism—will rage for years
to come. Other cases, such as this chapter’s opening story of homophobic protests
at military funerals, illustrate how diffi cult and politically unpopular it can be
to protect our freedoms and liberty. As with all political questions, the evolving
nature of our civil liberties is sure to generate more politica l confl ict. But that pro-
cess affi rms the essence of our political system.