This past Saturday, approximately 17,000 people filled a stadium in Sacramento to watch students from California State University, Sacramento, graduate. The commencement address was given by Janis Besler Heaphy, president and publisher of The Sacramento Bee (a daily newspaper with a circulation of about 330,000). I would have gone to the ceremony to watch a few friends graduate if I had not at that moment been preparing to board an airplane, but that's beside the point.

The speech was about civil liberties, and touched on the issue of racial profiling since the Sept. 11 attacks. Heaphy said there are some negative consequences resulting from the government's investigation into the terrorist attacks, but before she could finish making her point, the crowd began heckling her so much that the University president had to take the microphone and restore order. The audience calmed down, Heaphy resumed her speech, but then the heckling grew louder. She didn't even finish her speech. (The Bee's news article on it can be found here: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1335122p-1404788c.html)

I've linked to her speech below, and I'm wondering if I'm the only one worried that people heckled her over THIS speech. What is happening to America? Where is democracy?

I think Heaphy was making a valid point when she said, "No one argues the validity and need for both retaliation and security. But to what lengths are we willing to go to achieve them? Specifically, to what degree are we willing to compromise our civil liberties in the name of security?"

Do Americans really want wiretaps, racial stereotyping and censorship of the press? I sat in an airport yesterday and watched an airline employee pull random people out of line as they were waiting to board the plane. They were taken to an area for "secondary screening," where they were subjected to yet another metal detector and their bags were searched. And yet, while the man searched two individuals, numerous other people (myself included) boarded the plane without even being seen by the man. Why did he think a Japanese couple was more suspicious than I was?

Something is happening to America, and I'm not sure that all of it is a good thing. Yes, we need tighter security. Yes, we need to be more aware of potential harm and evil. But where do we draw the line? Why did the crowd at the CSUS commencement ceremony boo someone when she was trying to address the concerns felt by many people in these times? Am I the only one who thinks the government isn't always doing the right thing these days?

Ellmyruh