The Fourth Amendment - Not a Source of Innocence

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Since the United States government began banning substances like marijuana and cocaine, the fourth amendment has become one of the most called upon among the bill of rights. We should all be honoring the fourth amendment far more than that, because it continues the theme of weakening the power of the agents of government in comparison with the rights of the people.

When I think of the fourth amendment, I think of Tunisia, the Arab Spring, and Mohamed Bouazizi. Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor who was repeatedly harassed by police. The last time a policewoman decided to confiscate his possessions on the street Bouazizi went before police headquarters, doused himself with gasoline, and lit himself on fire. The ensuing riots and protests forced the Tunisian president to step down, the first Arab leader to do so this year. While the Arab Spring is not turning out to be a good step towards freedom in the world, the incident that started it is a perfect example of why we need the fourth amendment.

Sane people around the world will always be reluctant to demand legislation to weaken police forces, especially with a world wide news media that is hell bent on igniting a viewer's interest with a five second lead in. So if we lived in a society today that had Tunisia's problem of police corruption, what would the headlines read when someone goes to limit the police? "Senator Doe introduces legislation to make you less safe from criminals."

Thankfully the founding fathers started us off on the right foot, our police officers can't punitively start searching your home just because they don't like you. They can't take away your livelihood until you decide to pay them a bribe... sure, abusing the 4th amendment looks sexy on The Shield, but when you have a million cops doing it, obviously what you get is a corrupt police force.

Instead what we get here in America is a bunch of pseudo-adults who don't appreciate what they have. Like this guy in the video, claiming "his amendments were violated." I'm really getting tired of seeing this everywhere I go. People need to pay attention to the word "reasonable." If you are walking around reeking of an illegal substance, intoxicated with an illegal substance, is it not reasonable to believe you may possess an illegal substance? Frankly, its only unreasonable if police are searching you only with the intention of punishing you or coercing you to do something they want.