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Pros and cons of government surveillance
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There is no such thing as “privacy” in the modern United States of America. You’re every move, internet post, and banking transaction are being monitored by the government. That is a fact. We know that to be true. So the question everyone is wondering; is surveillance of U.S. citizens for national security or to rid privacy laws? I believe that the government has the right to surveillance for the purpose of national security. As better said by Benjamin Franklin "they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"(Franklin). They should only use their power to spy on terrorists and drug lords. Once they start abusing their power and creeping on innocent people in the public, then it …show more content…
There are basically two sides to this debate. The side of the people who feel government surveillance is taking away our rights to privacy. And the side that feels that government surveillance is necessary to keep us safe. I am in favor of the second. I feel that by living in a free country you may have to give up some of your privacy for the safety of the nation. Here is a quote by President Obama where he agrees. “We can give our intelligence and law enforcement community the powers they need to track down and take out terrorists without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties”(Hammond). The government reserves the right to surveillance because they provide a military that fights for you. If the government uses their knowledge of surveillance for the protection of our country. I see no problem with it. There are a lot of great arguments for government surveillance. In an event of potential terrorist attack the government could use surveillance to stop the attack from ever happening. They could use their technology and face recognizing to identify the terrorist before people get hurt. Government surveillance is also helpful in finding fugitives. Hundreds of criminals are
We only have one life to live on this earth, and it should be our lives to live privately and freely. With so much surveillance, can we actually say that there is not a cost of freedom? Clearly, people need open their eyes and see mass surveillance is hindering out ability to see threats, and by the time we do it is too late. Something needs to be done, because innocent Americans should not be monitored everyday when the people who are a threat seem to be over looked. That is the most dangerous thing of all, not being able shift through the muck of useless information, while enemies could be planning something big. We Americans, have the right to be protected and not to be treated like a threat by our own government.
Undeniably, there is reasoning behind a watchful government. After 9/11, anti-terrorism acts were in high gear and legislators passed the Patriot Act, which increased the amount of surveillance powers that the government held (Savage para 1). It makes sense; a country shaken by terrorism would live fearfully without the comfort of the government eavesdropping on other possibly dangerous plots; the same goes for countries that are often affected by terrorism. The surveillance can deny criminals access to communication and prevent terrorist plots (Eijkman 139), This explains why after 9/11, Americans were practically begging for more surveillance (Savage para 1). Now that America is in a state of recovery and relaxation, there is absolute uproar over the NSA and other government surveillance agencies.
In America we take freedom and privacy for granted, we as people are unable to comprehend how safe our country actually is, especially in today's society. With that being said there is something that we must all understand, in this age of technology if people are not surveillanced it puts everybody else in our country and the country itself at risk. There are aspects of our privacy and life that we have to sacrifice in order to secure the freedom that we do have. The NSA and U.S. government needs access to our private information in order to ensure the safety of our country and citizens.
There are many types of surveillance’s that the government as set in motion. For instance, computer surveillance, phone surveillance, and Camera surveillance. The government is always claiming that they aren’t spying on everyday Americans but on the webpage www.eff.org on How the National Security Agency private domestic Spying Program Works, tells us a whole different story. The Government first convinced the major telephone companies such as Sprint and AT&T to deliver the records of the call-detail of their customers. This was done without any judicial oversight or a warrant. Also these phone companies allowed the National Security Agency to install practical transmission surveillance equipment Where the NSA could analyze certain key words or keyboard patterns and the connections. No warrant was issued for this as well it violat...
We must go through a lot of loss of privacy living here in America; security cameras constantly watch us, our credit cards are monitored, and even things like our social media life is monitored closely. Obviously we are not as monitored as countries such as North Korea, but we are still more monitored than we think we are. America is being watched around the clock, one great example is the Xbox One, which has its camera always on and monitoring.
It transcends the line between public and private identity. When all of someone 's private information is being watched, then who are they as a person? Citizens cannot allow their identity to be confiscated for the protection of the unknown. Tamara Thompson states in her article Overview: What is Domestic Surveillance? that, the NSA has constructed a program that lets it hijack almost anything. Using this skill, most American 's information is automatically taken in, without a purpose. What is America 's deepest and darkest secret? Because what might be a secret, will be known to someone. With the hindsight of constantly being over watched, then how can America freely do what they please? Insecurities will consume the mind with the thought that the NSA, or someone like it is watching us. Not only is it hurting America emotionally, but it is hurting America physically with the economy. These government agencies are making numerous unnecessary purchases every day with the attempt at securing our homeland. Why is it necessary to live in constant paranoia if the majority of America is doing nothing wrong? There are other ways to stop terrorism, and spying on the public is not one of them. Domestic surveillance is not necessary by any
The government is doing the total opposite of this. In fact, the government is invading everyone 's privacy which means that they are intruding into the personal lives of US citizens without a reason to. This should give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to sue the government for damages against the person or entity that has been intruded. Privacy is essential to giving a person the time to reflect on events that have transpired personally, religiously, and politically. It is as essential as sleep; it helps to provide the time to formulate opinions and decisions on all minor and major things in a person 's life.
One of the foremost reasons the government is monitoring the populace is to discover those people in the general public that are involved in major crimes or terrorism activities. Many supporters of state surveillance are of the view that in order to discover those people involved in major terrorist or criminal activities the government must actively monitor all of its citizens through the use of surveillance. Since the government casts such a broad net of monitoring, they are using citizens as a means to an end. Whistleblower Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, leaked classified NSA flies that expose mass surveillance operations carried out by the NSA (Greenwald, 2013)
According to Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary, surveillance is defined as a “close kept watch over someone or something (as by a detective).” Surveillance has been used ever since the days of, “Follow that cab!” From their primitive state, surveillance techniques and technology have evolved. Policing agencies no longer need to use methods of surveillance such as listening through walls, looking through windows and over fences, and even sifting through a suspect’s garbage. Because of the continuous development of new technology, policing agencies can hear, see, and track almost everyone and everything. As more and more technology is developed, who is to regulate the use of the technology and surveillance?
The privacy toward each individual is important. Without any privacy the democratic system that we know so well may not exist. It is fundamental to have the right to privacy. The defense and security need the right to privacy due to how they are created. Right to privacy was not an issue when our country was founded. Throughout those times the people knew their neighbors knew what was going on in their community. It was not like how it is now; drunk drivers, terrorist, or any other threats. During those times their only transportation that was used was horses. The government that we have now in place is what organized our society. (Right to Privacy)
"Free societies turn their backs on privacy at their own risk, for privacy is one of the fundamental human rights from which all other human rights are derived, (C)." If you take away individual rights like privacy, there would be no way to tell if someone is listening in on your conversation or watching you. For instance, document C states that "people can't have honest discussions with one another if they think their words are being overheard. The freedom that allows Americans to have their own opinions would be taken away because if people can not trust anything, they will say what everyone else is saying and do whatever everyone else is doing. There would be no individuality and everyone's identity would be
One of America’s greatest qualities is the absolute freedom to be an individual, the absolute protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In this country, all men are created equal. All men have rights and are free to live whatever life they wish to pursue, but what happens when these rights are violated? Why should these rights we have be violated by the government? Is it really for National Security or curiosity? Well, with the fact that surveillance could be beneficial for national security purposes, the government should not be allowed to violate the general public’s privacy. This is mainly because it violates the 4th amendment, which is a right given to the people of America to protect their private lives. The government
Drawing on the work of Foucault, discuss the claim that ‘we live in a surveillance society’.
Privacy is not just a fundamental right, it is also important to maintain a truly democratic society where all citizens are able to exist with relative comfort. Therefore, “[Monitoring citizens without their knowledge] is a major threat to democracies all around the world.” (William Binney.) This is a logical opinion because without freedom of expression and privacy, every dictatorship in history has implemented some form of surveillance upon its citizens as a method of control.
I think there is a right to privacy. What privacy means is “the right to be left alone, or freedom from interference or intrusion” (IAPP,1). Every American citizen has the right to privacy whether it be privacy in their homes, the words in their emails, or daily activities. But not only do the American people have the right to privacy from other citizens, we also have the right to privacy from the government. If the government can keep their conversations, actions and secrets under lock and key then Americans can as well. But unfortunately, the Constitution does not explicitly say anything about “privacy” for the American people, it is left for open interpretation in multiple amendments. The main amendment that screams “privacy” is the fourth amendment.