The dangers of lurching to the right or intolerance and prejudice taking a hold are all too common.
CommonDreams highlights one man's principled stand - and a lesson for everyone as anti-Muslim paranoia runs out of control.
"California now has a day honoring Fred Korematsu, who at 23 challenged the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans all the way to the Supreme Court - though he had to wait 40 more years for a reversal of his conviction. A lifelong activist, Korematsu also fought the post-9/11 indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" in Rumsfeld v. Padilla. He won a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, has had several schools named after him including the Fred Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, and is the subject of a documentary film. More on his life and importance here.
"As historical precedent, (Korematsu's conviction) it stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity our institutions must be vigilant in protecting constitutional guarantees. It stands as a caution that in times of distress the shield of military necessity and national security must not be used to protect governmental actions from close scrutiny and accountability. It stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive and judicial, must be prepared to exercise their authority to protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused." - Federal District Court Judge Marilyn Patel, ruling in 1984 that "great wrong" had been done to Korematsu and other Japanese-Americans."
CommonDreams highlights one man's principled stand - and a lesson for everyone as anti-Muslim paranoia runs out of control.
"California now has a day honoring Fred Korematsu, who at 23 challenged the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans all the way to the Supreme Court - though he had to wait 40 more years for a reversal of his conviction. A lifelong activist, Korematsu also fought the post-9/11 indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" in Rumsfeld v. Padilla. He won a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, has had several schools named after him including the Fred Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, and is the subject of a documentary film. More on his life and importance here.
"As historical precedent, (Korematsu's conviction) it stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity our institutions must be vigilant in protecting constitutional guarantees. It stands as a caution that in times of distress the shield of military necessity and national security must not be used to protect governmental actions from close scrutiny and accountability. It stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive and judicial, must be prepared to exercise their authority to protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused." - Federal District Court Judge Marilyn Patel, ruling in 1984 that "great wrong" had been done to Korematsu and other Japanese-Americans."
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