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Surveillance technology
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I think the threat of terrorism to the country can warrant intrusion into citizens’ civil liberties in order to protect the lives of the American citizens. However, I do feel their is a fine line when discussing freedom and security, but line needs to move back and fourth with the threat and intelligence gathered. With the current federal government stance and the USA Patriot Act, I think and feel this Act is adequate and should not extend any further into the civil liberties. It does the job needed in order to protect Americans, which is one of the main goals a government does, keep it citizens safe. I would be willing to give up a lot of civil liberties for national security, so long as these intrusions of privacy are effective in the combating the threat. While I do think that agencies can overreach, I don’t think it’s a prevalent as the media and other sources claim it …show more content…
I also don’t really consider this an issue because I think this works monitoring of Internet activity works to some extent. Social media is an outlet used by all terrorist organizations and groups, so why not look at who is following them or showing signs of extremism or aggression towards the U.S.
Should we allow for transparency in government to take precedence over the regulation of potentially sensitive national security information? I don’t think so. National security information is classified for a certain way and there is a reason, in order to protect US citizens and prevent serious damage to the US and its interests. I do think, with the recent passing of the latest form of Act, the USA Freedom Act, allows for more information to be declassified, which appeals to civil liberty groups, while keeping the law enforcement agencies ability to gather critical intelligence on potential terrorist
“We have to make a balance between security and civil liberties.”(Sensenbrenner 2). The patriot act was passed with very little congressional debate. The public was unaware of its passing. Our security is over protective because rights are being broken. Our rights should matter more to the government because the security is overprotective. Is the patriot act too harsh and invading our privacy?
Domestic Surveillance: Is domestic surveillance worth the hassle? In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the American people that the National Security Agency had been spying on them. Not only that, but also on world leaders. Domestic surveillance is understood as the first line of defense against terrorism, but it has many downsides, not only it violates Americans lives, also it spies on our social media, it puts a fine line on their privacy, and it is a big stab at the freedom of speech. According to John W. Whitehead, “The fact that the government can now, at any time, access entire phone conversations, e-mail exchanges, and other communications from months or years past should frighten every American.”
America was built so that people could have the freedoms that they needed and that they did not have to be scrutinized by the government as stated by our late president Abraham Lincoln, "...Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." If our presidents in the past have fought for these rights why should one act take away all that they have fought for? The Patriot Act should be dismantled due to the fact that the rights of the people are being violated.
The aftermath of the attacks on September 11 demonstrated that this was necessary. The Constitution is not designed to render the nation defenseless against people who have no value for human life, and who will use whatever means necessary to harm others to advance their goals. In conclusion, the Patriot Act gives the government the tools in which are necessary to keep America and its citizens safe.
From the beginning, the United States Constitution has guaranteed the American people civil liberties. These liberties have given citizens rights to speak, believe, and act freely. The Constitution grants citizens the courage to express their mind about something they believe is immoral or unjust. The question is, how far are citizens willing to extend the meanings of these liberties? Some people believe that American citizens take advantage of their civil liberties, harming those around them. On the contrary, many other people feel that civil liberties are necessary tools to fight for their Constitutional rights.
“Make America Great Again,” the campaign slogan know all around the world that is determined to change the face of 2016 election when sixty nine year old Donald John Trump is elected. In 2004, the federal debt was $7.3 trillion. This rose to $10 trillion when the housing bubble burst four years later. Today it exceeds $18 trillion and is projected to approach $21 trillion by 2019. Debt is not the only the thing the United States has been dealing within the past years, such as immigration, abortion, guns, foreign policy, taxes, along with numerous other topics, yet Trump has a way to solve the unsolved and yes, “Make America Great Again.”
... punish those responsible for the attacks and to protect against any similar attacks” (Doyle, The USA PATRIOT Act: A Legal Analysis, page 2). Sense the new laws were out into effect, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it. Several questions have been posed as to whether or not the Act was giving too much power to government law enforcement. With the law now leaving room for open investigations, spying, and even wiretapping, people are wondering if things have been taken too far. Interest groups fighting to protect our civil liberties are arguing that we have passed the point of keeping our country safe from outside terrorism, but are now compromising our basic civil rights as Americans, and as humans for that matter. Although many revisions have been proposed, the USA Patriot Act still stands, and continues to raise question to the governments authority.
Individuals should not have to give up their personal freedoms for the sake of national security. In this case concerning national security, which seems broad, security can be differentiated into two aspects, internal and external. Internal security pertains more to the people because it represents the government. External security involves state laws and codes that help prevent attacks on the United States, terrorism and potential foreign invasion. Civil rights in the United States are the right of U.S. citizens to have privacy, freedom of speech, peaceful protest, fair trial, personal freedom, and equal protection. Thes...
This is not what the Patriot Act was passed for; they have gone over their limits and are getting involved with things that don’t entirely concern them. This is exactly what infuriates the people because they are getting out of their boundaries to make a big fuss out of some minor crime that has nothing to pertain to terrorism. While the Patriot Act was put into place to stop terrorism, it has had a nasty after math. People suspected of terrorist activity have no civil rights. They are put in prison and held without due process regardless of whether they are innocent or not. This is just wrongful imprisonment because they don’t have a valid reason as to why they would put an innocent civilian behind bars. This act just concerns the people by any rational assessment. The power given to the government to conduct surveillance on citizens is just against the constitution because we have no privacy. The government is off-track and is labeling anyone as a suspected terrorist and will collect information about them. We are living in a society where slowly and slowly we’re going to lose most of our rights and be told what to do. We are gradually going to become somewhat close to a dictatorship and lose all of our rights. The Patriot Act also allows the above-mentioned sneak and peak warrants to be used for any federal crime,
9/11 was one of the darkest days in America, but some say the government could have been part of these attacks. For many years people have debated about the 9/11 cover up. This theory cannot explain why the government would do this. Once people understand why the 9/11 cover up is fake, they will begin to see the answer to their problem, could the government have done this? This conspiracy theory is wrong because, terrorists admitted to the attacks, so many people died, and there's no evidence against the government.
Essentially for the past 12 years the NSA has been monitoring the cyber world and telephone activity of American citizens, as well as foreign nationals in secrecy. The NSA has been receiving digital information from several major internet and cable providers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. They have kept records of phone conversations of millions of Americans and internet search histories as well as all data text messages. Many of the American citizens being monitored have not been convicted of any crimes and have caused no suspicion of illicit activity. Despite the circumstances these private citizens are being unlawfully monitored by the U.S government without consent.The issue at hand is whether the new powers granted by the Patriot Act to permit the NSA to spy on its citizens are absolutely necessary to protect our national security, or if the NSA utilizing the terro...
The United States is in a tricky situation. First and foremost, we are a country that prides itself on being free. Even the fourth amendment to our Constitution declares, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Yet we are also a country that demands security. Americans expect that our government will keep us safe. These two ideals, freedom and security, are often at odds. How can we expect our government to stop terrorism without infringing on our rights? Recent disclosures, that the government has access to American phone calls and emails, have brought this debate to the forefront of public discourse.
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
Tania Mulherkar Volpe- Debate September 27, 2014 As Jodi Rell once stated, “At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.” Keeping this quote in mind for all citizens of all countries, our collective, main goals in life follow somewhere along the lines of staying well and leading healthy lifestyles. Although goals like this seem effortless to achieve, in a current society like todays, they are quite the challenge to accomplish. Today, there are dangerous threats and possible actions from terroristic groups to be concerned about, the usual crimes committed for either amusement or necessity to be aware of and prevent, bullying situations to put an end to, and a multitude of lives lost to suicide to later on marvel about.