Snitch culture is dangerous in a larger way, too, since it erodes the structure of a free society by breaking community bonds. “Denunciations provide the means by which individuals can harm others whom they dislike and gain relative to them within their communities. Ultimately, this can lead to a reorientation of society away from cooperation and trust, and toward hierarchy and obedience.”

In recent weeks, police in several cities have arrested people who continued to engage in anti-abortion rights demonstrations or other advocacy efforts outside reproductive health clinics, despite stay-at-home orders and similar restrictions. The arrests and citations come as the fight over abortion access continues to play out during the pandemic.

Activists and elected officials who are opposed to citizen privacy are attempting to take advantage of the current crisis to advance their anti-free speech agenda. Last week, Congressional Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to insert regulations that would limit First Amendment rights into the CARES Act.

History presents numerous examples of liberty violations made in the face of security threats: the Alien and Sedition Acts signed into law by President John Adams, Japanese American internment camps during WWII, and the use of torture after 9/11. After the threat has subsided, Americans must recognize any constitutional violations for what they were, lest they become the new normal.

In a survey conducted on Super Tuesday 2020, over half of likely American voters said they reject “cancel culture.”

Last month, U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro targeted a few dozen of his own constituents with a tweet that named San Antonio residents who had donated the maximum amount to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.