HOW WILL LIBERTY FARE OVER NEXT 12 MONTHS?

The month of January takes its name from the Roman god Janus, whose two
faces look ahead as well as behind. As each new year begins, then, pundits
offer their takes on the previous 12 months and their outlook for the
coming year.

As media outlets list the top events of 2004 in various subjects --
politics, news, sports, entertainment, etc. -- it's important to also
examine the status of our liberties and the continuing threats to our freedom.

Despite what many people might think, the greatest peril to our rights
comes not from enemy nations or foreign terrorists, but from our own
government.

Many people in this country continue to use the Bush administration's
never-ending war on terror as an excuse to expand government powers at the
expense of Americans' liberties. The USA PATRIOT Act, which Congress
hastily passed unread just six weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks, has even affected how mom-and-pop businesses conduct transactions.

The San Jose Mercury News reported on how federal law requires thousands of
money service businesses -- including banks, casinos, credit card companies
and even liquor stores that cash checks -- to have a written plan for
dealing with money laundering. They "also must have a 'compliance officer'
to ensure the plan is heeded, train its employees to spot shady
transactions and regularly audit its own performance," the newspaper
reported. Firms also must avoid doing business with more than 5,000 people
on a government watch list.

These intensive requirements are costly for banks and other large
institutions with the resources to comply. For small businesses, the
mandates are extremely difficult or impossible. Even worse than the
business expense, however, is the fact that the government wants to make
snoops out of private enterprises. And soon these regulations will expand
to real estate agents, travel agents, jewelry stores, pawn shops and even
car dealerships.

Do we really want to become a nation of government informers?

The war on terrorism isn't the only excuse for federal intrusiveness. In
the name of the war on drugs, and against common sense and the U.S.
Constitution, the Justice Department has decided to prosecute medical
marijuana users, even if their activities are allowed under state law and
doesn't affect interstate commerce.

In addition, drug prohibition gives police the excuse to stop and search
travelers and even confiscate cash or goods that might be proceeds from
illegal narcotics trade. And, of course, the idea of imprisoning anyone for
what they choose to put in their bodies makes no sense in a supposedly free
society.

Other intrusions on liberty are more subtle. In the Rio Grande Valley, for
example, we see constant abuses of authority. Last year, for example, South
Texas saw U.S. Customs inspectors charged with taking bribes, school
officials convicted of corruption and FBI investigations into local
politicians.

When residents pay taxes, they expect that money to be spend on legitimate
purposes. When public officials use their positions for their own gain,
that means that taxpayers are involuntarily working for these corrupt
individuals' benefit instead of their own. That's certainly an intrusion on
citizens' right to better themselves, to pursue happiness.

Looking ahead, then, will the cause of liberty lose or gain ground?
Ultimately, that's up to us. We must keep watching, questioning and
correcting government at all levels whenever we see it infringing on our
freedom. Here's to a happy -- and free -- new year in 2005.