Due process is more important than national security

Anthony J. D'Angelo once said , "Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant."We live in a world of change where nothing remains constant except that it will change.The revolutionaries overthrow the regimes, and then becomes the new regimes waiting to be overthrown by the next revolution.The Cold War was one of the most insidious threats our country has ever faced, but with its end began a new threat.Global terrorism conducted by non-state actors has posed a more upfront threat than the Cold War ever did.Our embassies our military bases were attacked, Americans were sought and killed. But this was never on our soil, our land.This all changed on September 11, 2001. But I refrain from going into detail, because we all know what happened.Contention 1. Shifting threatsWhile the threats that face our country shift and change, threat always remains constant but our responses don't. Yesterday it communism, today it's global terror; yesterday it was Nuclear stockpiles, today it's the Patriot Act.Our founding Fathers established the Constitution to remain as a binding code for all future generations.They recognized that "ours is a nation of laws and not men."Most importantly they established a system of civil rights for all Americans, among which was the right to due process.But the system of laws they created was designed for their times.Yes they foresaw future threats and compensated for them, but it's fair to say they never imaged anything like our current world.Contention 2. Principle not ruleInteresting though, the founding fathers designed the Constitution as a breathing document, one to be interpreted with the times. It's was designed as a set of guiding and lawful principles, not rigid system of rules.This form of transformation is found in Courts.The Courts have the ability to interpret the provisions of the Constitution, including Due Process, and model them for the times.Premise. Times call for Due Process to be limitedThe 5th amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to Due Process. Similarly the 14th amendment guarantees that no State shall be discriminatory among its citizens and take their "life, liberty,or property, without due process of the law."In fact Due Process is the only single thing in the Constitution mentioned twice.Due Process can largely be defined from other amendments such as the 4th (no unreasonable Searches and Seizures), the 6th (right to a speedy and public trial), 8th (no cruel and unusual punishment), 13th (no involuntary servitude), etc. But certain instances and certain shifting threats would require that this approach to Due Process must be suspended with current threats.For instance the right to a speedy and public trial, if a U.S. citizen is to engage in an act of terrorism it is safer for society if the individual be detained without trial, or be subject to military trial.The reason being that classified information could be released, civilian trials don't always result in conviction, civilian trials may not always result in a life long or death sentence (meaning the individual will be released again into society), and that it violates international law under the Geneva Convention requiring that terrorists or unlawful combatants be tried under Military Tribunals and not Civilian Courts or Court Martial.The same applies to things such as the Patriot Act.Giving the government to intrude upon our privacy increases the chances of terrorists being apprehended.In the end the nets benefit for society is far greater if their privacy is intruded upon versus another terrorist attack.And on that note, when was the last successful terrorist attack?Even still in that how many failed terrorist attacks have there been?Our government has suspended some provisions of Due Process but has not blatantly violated them. The result?We are more secure from attack than at many points in the past.Contention 3. Not without safeguardsAgain noting ours is a living constitution and not dead one; it is to be reinterpreted by the Courts as needed.The Courts can also serve as a safeguard in this process. If the government blatantly violates our rights to Due Process they can step in and correct it as needed. We are not without safeguards.This would conclude that Due Process should not be valued over National Security, but rather that they are both instrumental in protecting a nation and at times should be limited in order to perserve our freedoms and security.I now stand ready for my opponet's rebuttle .