After work on Wednesday, I went to the Atomic Cantina for a few pints of Bridgeport IPA. There was a game show on TV, called "Power of Ten." At first, I thought, "Oh, another stupid game show," but this one wasn’t as dumb as "Don’t Forget the Lyrics." (I’m not making that up: there really is a TV show called "Don’t Forget the Lyrics.")Contestants are asked a question: What percentage of Americans polled, said <insert statement here>. Many of the questions bewildered me, and there was no way I could have answered them, such that if the answer had been 1 percent or 99 percent, neither answer would have been more (or less) surprising than the other.Then the question was asked: "What percentage of Americans believe the police should be able to search your home without a warrant, if they suspect that you have drugs?"Let that sink in. It’s a question about values, not law. It’s not a question about the country we live in; it’s a question about the country that we want to live in. They weren’t polling to find out if Americans think the police can legally do that. It’s not a question about whether or not police suspicions should be enough for a judge to issue a warrant. It’s not a question about whether or not drug offenders should be punished. Should police be able to search your home without a warrant if they suspect you have drugs?Americans disagree about a great many things (which actually encourages me) and that’s why we pursue such a wide variety of (sometimes conflicting) agendas. And yet, I like to think that surely we’re all (mostly) agreed on some very basic and simple things. There is simply no mainstream group in America, no matter how liberal or conservative, who publically advocates the repeal of the Fourth Amendment. Nor have I ever heard anyone put forth a radical interpretation of the Fourth Amendment, such that it wouldn’t apply to the situation described in the poll question. On this point, there appears to be unity and consensus.Appearances are deceiving. Power of Ten’s polls resulted in 28 percent. Twenty-eight percent of people polled, think that the Fourth Amendment is just plain wrong, and their dream society—the world they want to live in—doesn’t include that law.Furthermore, 28 percent is a lower bound. Everyone has some issue that hits close to home and pushes some emotional button, even if they don’t view drug possession with much moral outrage. Should police be able to search your home without a warrant, if they suspect you are a pedophile? Should police be able to search your home without a warrant, if they suspect you are planning to fly an aircraft into an office building? Should police be able to search your home without a warrant, if they suspect you are bribing senators to enact legislation that has no purpose other than to serve your business interest?Twenty-eight percent was a surprise to me. Of course, there’s more than one way to interpret it. Maybe people were deliberately lying to the poll, as a prank. Maybe it was just a flippant answer where they didn’t think about what they were saying. Maybe they misheard the question and didn’t perceive the "out" in "without a warrant." And maybe they were telling the truth.If they were telling the truth, that’s over one in four Americans. Are you one of them? Could one of them be someone you know? Could one of them be in the room with you, right now?
Forget The Fourth
4 min read
