I am not sure why you are so upset with Get Real, Amos--he is certainly right--the excesses of the first part of the 20th Century certainly haven't been repeated recently. Nothing like Palmer Raids, for instance. The Civil Rights movement, and all the associated rights movements, have organized people in a way that makes it harder to violate their rights.

The common belief is that Liberals fight for Civil Rights, and Conservatives oppose them, and try to undermine them. This isn't necessarily true-- Liberals tend to advocate bigger government, which has the greater potential for attempting to control the lives of the private citizen, and Consevatives, in theory at least, believe that the governement that governs best is that the governs least. In practice, they are probably about equal when it comes to abuse--Remember the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley? Clark Kerr was it's great enemy, and he was a self-proclaimed Liberal and Progressive--Of course, it was Ronald Reagan who actually sent armed troops into the streets of Berkeley--