It is unfortunate that Americans are no longer aware of what the constitution says and what their rights are. Because of that, we are often very passive about what happens when the government violates those rights.

Bovard’s remark links civic ignorance to political acquiescence. He argues that constitutional rights are not self-enforcing: when citizens don’t know what the Constitution actually guarantees (or how those guarantees have been narrowed in practice), they are less able to recognize violations and less likely to resist them. The quote also implies a feedback loop—government overreach becomes easier when the public is passive, and passivity grows when people feel uncertain about their legal standing. In Bovard’s broader libertarian critique, the statement functions as a warning that liberty depends on an informed, assertive citizenry rather than trust in officials’ restraint.