When the United States in engaged in military conflict, individual rights ought to supersede conflicting claims of national security.
When Americans go to war, we aren't just fighting for love of country. We are fighting for the values that make us different as a nation: freedom, equality and the rule of law. Who would want it said that America protected those values in peacetime, when it was easy, but not in wartime, when it was hard?.
The United States was attacked on September 11th because of our civil liberties. "If we are intimidated to the point of restricting our freedoms, the terrorists will have won." "We well lose that war on terrorism without a shot being fired if we sacrifice the liberties of the American people in the belief that be doing so we will stop the terrorists.".
Individual rights are the guarantee of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. An individual right is something everyone has in every country. They are also our civil liberties. The Constitution lays out what those liberties are. The Constitution gives every individual protection of their rights. Some of those rights are the right to own property and to be tried by a jury. The Constitution would have never been ratified if amendments to protect individual liberties from the government had not been added. Anthony D. Romero says about our liberties, "They are what truly distinguish us; they are the source of our unique strength; they are our legacy to the world." National security is taking any and all means possible to keep our country safe.
After the attacks on the United States on September 11th, the government felt pressured to take action to keep our country safe. They were so pressured that they didn't even take the time to think how those actions would affect or even help the U.S. Once such action the government wanted to take was to make every U.S. citizen have a national identification card.