Constitutional rights shouldn’t be taken lightly

It is obvious from his editorial (NI, Tuesday, March 31) that Manuel Coppola did not understand the point I was trying to make in my recent submission. So let me try again.

I wrote concerning the conduct of the Border Patrol agents. Nowhere in my letter was I critical of the border checkpoint. Nowhere in my letter did I address the "monster" of drug use in this country and its impact on Mexico. Coppola said his point was that we should "pick our battles." I have.

I love this country and I am not embarrassed to say so. It is the greatest nation on earth because it has laws that respect and guarantee the rights of ordinary citizens such as you and me. When those rights are ignored, denied or compromised by an agent of the government, in this case the Border Patrol, we lose what makes this country great. It does not matter what "monster" you may be trying to tame. Fighting terrorism, drug trafficing, or illegal immigration does not justify infringing on the rights of U.S. citizens. My assertion of this fact is not "righteous indignation." It is simply recognition of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.

I have never been asked to provide proof of my citizenship at the checkpoint. Each time I have been questioned by Border Patrol agents, the questioning came after my citizenship had been acknowledged. This is a violation of my rights as a U.S. citizen. I am saddened that a man in Coppola’s position of influence and whose very livelihood depends on the First Amendment would have so little regard for this fact. And his apparent belief that the Border Patrol could have pulled me into secondary, strip-searched me and torn up my truck looking for contraband absent probable cause is truly scary. That's not the way government in this country is supposed to work.

As Justice William O. Douglas once wrote, "Those who already walk submissively will say there is no cause for alarm. But submissiveness is not our heritage â€- The Constitution was designed to keep government off the backs of the people â€- The aim was to allow men to be free and independent, and to assert their rights against government."

That is the battle I have chosen. I am disappointed that it is one Coppola doesn’t think worth fighting.

(Editor’s Note: Carey is a resident of Tumacacori.)