Destroy to save
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
During the Vietnam War, it was reported that an American Army major explained that "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it." He was talking about the decision to shell the provincial capital Ben Tre in order to rout the Viet Cong. The quotation went viral.
Today, with bipartisan enthusiasm for the National Security Agency and the Patriot Act, with the secret spying on American citizens, it is: We have to destroy the Constitution to save it.
Just because politicians say something is legal doesn't make it any less a crime.
Tony Roehrig
Salt Lake City