Absolutism And Democracy

A democracy is founded on the principles of liberty and justice for all, with no exceptions. Is there a time where it is acceptable, or even right, to strip the rights of an individual or a group to maintain said democracy? The source presented definitely believes that there is. Although it acknowledges the fact that rights and freedoms are essential to a democracy; it also describes the temporary suspension of those rights and freedoms at certain times necessary to preserve democracy. This philosophy is in line with the idea of an end justifying the means, where for the sake of keeping the rights afforded to people by democracy they take away those same rights temporarily. This ideology is often justified by the idea of the common good. Some …show more content…
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor which was an American base in Hawaii. These actions forced the U.S into the war. At that time there were many immigrants from Japan in the States and in Canada, both were members of the allied powers. As a result of the attacks the Japanese-Americans and the Japanese-Canadians were viewed as the enemy because of their heritage, even though some of them were born and raised in North America. The Canadian government enacted the War Measures Act and as a result nearly 23000 Japanese-Canadians were put into internment camps. Adult males were separated from their families and put into work camps. This forced relocation subjected Japanese Canadians to government-enforced curfews and interrogations, in addition to job and property losses. The internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II was the forced relocation and incarceration in camps in the interior of the country of between 110,000 and 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who lived on the Pacific coast. Sixty-two percent of the internees were United States citizens. When the perspective from the source is embraced actions like these are acceptable in the name of preservation of democracy. In reality these acts are in direct opposition with the liberal ideals that democracy was built on. It can not be said that the suspension of the rights of people of Japanese descent in North America helped preserve democracy, …show more content…
Can straying from these rights help preserve democracy? The USA Patriot Act was legislation that was passed soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which was also viewed as an attack on democracy. The Act was put in place as a response to the attacks. It was justified as a way to strengthen national security and keep democracy from falling apart. The Patriot Act restricts freedom of association by allowing for detention and deportation of individuals who provide lawful assistance to groups that are not designated as terrorist organizations. It then requires the immigrant to prove a negative that they did not know, and should not have known, that his assistance would further terrorist activity. This creates a very serious risk that truly innocent individuals could be deported for truly innocent association with political groups that the government later chooses to regard as terrorist organizations. The Act is also in breach of the right to privacy. Law enforcement is given a lot of power, they can search and seize a person's possessions without their knowledge or permission. Recently it has also been found that the Act has opened the public up to surveillance by government agencies including monitored emails and phone calls. Lastly the Patriot Act allowed for the existence of Guantanamo Bay where those who were suspected terrorists were imprisoned without