Civil Liberty Restrictions?

It is always going to be a touchy issue on whether or not the government should minimize citizen's freedoms during times of war or invasion. I think everyone can see it both ways, at least to some extent. Today, we looked at the case of Korematsu v. United States. I agree with some of my classmates that looking at it from today's perspective it is easy to say that Japanese internment camps were wrong. However, it needs to be looked at in the light of what was going on at that time. At that time, Pearl Harbor had just been attacked by Japan and in part because of espionage from Japanese Americans. Just as after 9/11, the American people were looking for the government to take action and "fix" the problem. It isn't an excuse, but no matter what the government did there would have been disagreements. As the Court stated, it was vital to take action right away (the threat of an invasion on the West Coast was a very valid threat considering what had just happened and the position of Japan to our coast). Parts of the West Coast were turned into Military Areas and even though the government knew that not all of the Japanese Americans were traitors, they did what they thought was best to protect the soldiers and the American people at that time. Again, I'm not saying that I think it is right, but after an attack on American soil it makes me see why such extreme measures were taken. I think that is why some people find it alright that the government has heightened security measures today (for example - wire taps and security at airports). It is not as extreme as what happened after Pearl Harbor, but it poses the question of where the line should be drawn? And after an attack or invasion on our own land, most people agree that something wasn't working and measures need to be taken to change procedures to prevent an attack from happening again. As I said, I think this subject will always be touchy and although people want increased national security it will be up to the government to weigh the costs against the benefits.