The Biden administration has gone into full attack mode against the First Amendment right to petition the government as his attorney general has declared that parents opposing critical race theory (CRT) [and mask mandates] before their local school boards should potentially be treated as domestic terrorists under the Patriot Act.

This abuse of that dubious post-Sept. 11 law proves once again that while well-intentioned, 20 years later, the Patriot Act is one of the biggest legislative mistakes in our nation’s history. The politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI has led to many well-chronicled abuses of power. However, the brazen application of this anti-terrorism law against parents voicing opposition to a Marxist education policy that racist academicians are trying to force down the throats of their children is such a step beyond the intended scope of the law that Congress must take steps today to repeal it.

The announcement by Attorney General Merrick Garland [to have the FBI team up with schools to combat parents protesting mask mandates and CRT] falls hard on the heels of an FBI request for 200,000 encrypted ProtonMail email accounts in an unprecedented mass-surveillance operation targeting conservatives.

Congress needs to begin the process of repealing the Patriot Act and holding Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray accountable for its abuse. In the meantime, state attorneys general need to push back hard against these broad, sweeping measures which criminalize political activism. Governors, state legislatures, county commissions, and school boards must denounce the characterization of the very taxpayers who pay for the schools as being terrorists because they support Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I have a dream’ vision. And state and local governments should deny all public funds from being spent for membership in the National School Board Association, which asked that the domestic-terrorist designation be given to parents opposing critical race theory. There is no excuse for a single taxpayer dollar to go to an organization which has declared war on the parents of the children entrusted to them.

Americans have a right to hold election officials accountable for their decisions. Americans have a right to petition government at all levels for redress. Americans have a right to speak out and organize in favor or against public policies. The attempt by Garland to criminalize these actions is grounds for his impeachment. 

Rick Manning is president of Americans for Limited Government (ALG). The organization says it is a “non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free-market reforms, private property rights, and core American liberties.” This op-ed is drawn and edited from a news release the ALG issued on Oct. 5.

One of the great privileges of reaching and working on a university campus is the chance to be in regular touch with young people. Even better, I sometimes get asked to give talks elsewhere and to meet with young people of all kinds and descriptions. That’s sometimes one on one, other times in small groups, and sometimes with as many as 50 or 60 people.

 Over the past few years, this has given me a chance to observe the upcoming generation of citizens and leaders, and what I have seen heartens me. Not least because the young people I’ve met are, for the most part, deeply concerned about the future of the country. They can be sharply critical, but it’s clear that most of them take a fundamental pride in what this nation stands for and how far it’s traveled over the centuries.

 This shows up in a fundamental respect for the country’s diversity, and an overall respect for many of the institutions of representative democracy: the military, the courts, law enforcement, the health-care system — though Congress often comes in for some sharp words. To be sure, they can also be critical of these institutions’ flaws, but I haven’t encountered anyone who wants to tear them up and start over again. Instead, they want to fix what’s in front of them. They’re curious about how the nation’s institutions work, even skeptical, but they don’t reject them outright as irredeemably flawed. 

There are several key issues that dominate our conversations: climate change, COVID-19, student loans, and college debt. If you ask what problems they’re most concerned about, racial issues also loom large: they see racial inequity and repairing historic wrongs as a huge and important challenge to our representative democracy. Interestingly, more than the older people I encounter, they will often speak up in favor of U.S. engagement with the world and want the US to exert a helpful leadership role.

 When it comes to domestic politics, I’ve been struck by the extent to which the students I meet seem interested in making voting easier. Not infrequently, they’ll bring up the idea of making election day a national holiday. And they seem to like the idea of automatic voter registration for citizens, to encourage participation.

 As for their own participation, I often ask if anyone wants to run for public office. I’m always pleasantly surprised at the number of hands that go up. More than a few want to pursue jobs in government at all levels, arguing that they can make a greater contribution there than they might otherwise — they recognize that working for government is not a path to great wealth, yet they’re still committed to that idea. Perhaps most heartening, even those who have no desire to serve in government confess an interest in serving their communities and improving their corner of the world. I always come away stirred by the number of these young people who speak with knowledge and commitment about their desire to be of service. 

 To be sure, it’s bracing to sit in on their discussions about where the country is headed. They’re often robust, with plenty of differences of opinion. But underlying these conversations is a general optimism about the future — and, quite notably in this political climate, a wide tolerance for the viewpoints of others and a willingness to listen to one another. I wish it were more common among adults.

 The one other thing I’ll note is that regularly, I come across students — of all races, ethnicity, and description — who are clearly talented, engaged, and impressive. They are, I believe, marked for leadership. And if I’m right, we’re going to be in good hands.                      

Lee Hamilton, 90, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south central Indiana.