We must continue to fight an aggressive war against terrorism. But September 11 can no longer be an excuse either for not taking decisive action to remedy the decades-old problem of traditional profiling or for not discussing seriously how newer forms of profiling should be addressed. It is time to revive the national consensus that existed on this issue before the September 11 tragedy, to broaden the discussion of profiling to meet new civil rights challenges, and to make sure that the nation stays faithful to its core constitutional principles of fairness and equality.
