Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Surveillance in america
Personal liberty vs national security
Patriot act and civil liberties
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Surveillance in america
No Freedom in The Land of the Free The United States of America, known as the land of the free. Where all are free to do as they please, with consequences to illegal acts obviously. But is this the land of the free? A land where people are being “protected” and “secured” at the cost of their freedom. This is no longer the land of the free. This is not the America it once was. We are no longer free. This nation seems to be not just under God, but under surveillance. Those that have said over and over that all are free, are the same people constantly monitoring and watching. The government says that security is for the people’s benefit, but in order to have security they need to give up “some” of their freedom. They shouldn’t have to give that up. They are here because since the …show more content…
What is the point of having rights and freedom if all that is going to be ignored. The government has said that what they do is for our safety. How do we know that they aren’t just using the surveillance footage, recordings and records for other purposes. The government has lied to us many times before, for example The PATRIOT Act that was implemented by George Bush was created so that it would help prevent another attack like 9/11. The act was said to provide appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism. (The PATRIOT Act, 2001) What the act actually did was allow the government to go through records and footage that had nothing to do with terrorism. In the end the act didn't even help in finding Osama Bin Laden, the man behind the 9/11 attacks. The people of the United States were and some are still unaware of what the government can look up and see. This is a violation of privacy. The fourth amendment states that the people should be secure. ( Amendment IV) How are we secure when we are under surveillance. The cameras in stores can be accessed by the National Security Agency, also known as the
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.
I am a 37-year-old Army Veteran who served 2 tours in Afghanistan. I enlisted in the Army on September 27th, 2001, when i was 23 years old. I was living in New York City at the time of the attacks and I witnessed the evils of Al Qaeda. We are all aware that after the attacks on September 11th, 2001, our government implemented a new surveillance policy. Over these past few years, there has been much scrutiny over this policy. Some claim it is illegal, or that it violates Americans’ rights. I am here to tell you these accusations are all false. A lot of the criticisms started over President Bush. Many claim that he extended his powers to expand this surveillance program. Bush, however, was entirely within his rights as the Commander-in-Chief. The Constitution clearly states that one of his most important jobs s to protect this country (Hayden). This program’s exclusive goal was to make the country safer. Also, if this program really were illegal, it would have been ruled so during the multiple hearings on surveillance. Not just once, but many times, the government 's surveillance program was ruled to be compliant with the limits of the Constitution
“The Fourth Amendment wasn't written for people with nothing to hide any more than the First Amendment was written for people with nothing to say.” (Dave Krueger). The Fourth Amendment protects the people's values, including the right of privacy. The Fourth Amendment includes, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, paper, effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure, shall not be violated.” When the founding fathers created the Constitution they ensured the people fundamental laws that would be used to any issue portrayed in the Supreme Court. That gave the people a relief that no one is ever above the law that is created. The privacy of the people was a very big value enforced by warrants. In the case of the
"Free America: Is Freedom Really Free? We all say we live in a free society, but if you cross the street without using a crosswalk, you could be arrested. How can that be freedom? When you look at it that way, it doesn't seem free.
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,
From the Age of Exploration to the Revolutionary period, many factors shaped the connotation of the word liberty. Liberty is defined as, “the quality or state of being free” (Merriam-Webster). This means religious freedoms, political freedoms, social freedoms, and many freedoms we may not think of on a daily basis. Throughout history, the word liberty has developed into a word with a positive connotation as well as a word used to describe the freedom we have today. The idea of liberty developed because of, religious persecutions, restrictions, and maltreatment during the fifteenth century through the seventeenth century.
The United States rests upon a foundation of freedom, where its citizens can enjoy many civil liberties as the result of decades of colonial struggles. However, African Americans did not achieve freedom concurrently with whites, revealing a contradiction within the “nation of liberty”. It has been stated that "For whites, freedom, no matter how defined, was a given, a birthright to be defended. For African Americans, it was an open-ended process, a transformation of every aspect of their lives and of the society and culture that had sustained slavery in the first place." African Americans gained freedom through the changing economic nature of slavery and historical events like the Haitian Revolution policies, whereas whites received freedom
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, this country scrambled to take action to provide future protection. New techniques had to be developed to protect the nation from the menace of terrorism. Along with the new techniques came the decision to enact laws that some believed crossed the threshold of violating civil liberties this county and those living in it were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “On October 26, 2001, the Public Law 107-56, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, also known as the USA Patriot Act, was signed into effect” (Stern, 2004, p. 1112). While speaking to Congress, President George Bush stated, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorist” (Stern, 2004, p. 1114). Congress knew by signing the bill, they were expecting each American to give up a part of his or her guaranteed rights. Rights such as the right to privacy, free speech and the right to know when a citizen is being investigated by the government were just among a few. The act has been described as a “law enforcement wish list” (Stravelli, 2003, p. 1). The wish list allows law enforcement to “obtain people’s personal information and conduct surveillance, and in some cases impose secrecy on their law enforcement activities” (Update: USA Patriot Act, 2007, p. 1).
Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.
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.
On the day of September 11th 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center changed the principles on which the United States had stood for since it was founded over two centuries ago. After the terrorist attacks, the United States government launched a massive data collection program which collected internet logs, cell phone records of citizens, violating the freedom of privacy. But, giving up the freedom of privacy, American citizens were safe from terrorist attacks after 9/11. USA, the country known for liberty and freedom choose the path of restricting freedom in order to keep its citizens safe from another terror attack. Even in a country where the notion of “liberty” and ”freedom” was born took a course of safety, giving up some extent of personal
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
Along with Privacy and security comes the issue of terrorism, Constitutional rights, and Prisoners of War (POW). The privacy vs security debate has two sides to it. Many think that it has influenced governmental interaction with citizens. Sometimes the law focuses on the wrong interests. Just as security cameras are made for thief’s, there come along violations within a person’s workspace or personal life. Privacy emerged early on including Jewish and Roman laws safeguarding against surveillance. Once populations began to grow citizens around the world started filing complaints about noise and unlawful search and seizures. Security and Privacy become an internationally growing issue that affected the world. Security is known as a sort of Independence from danger. Privacy is a freedom from the Undesirable. “He noticed that the needle on his gas gauge was getting low and decides to pull over. As he walks into the gas station he pays for the gas with his credit card, steals a pack of cigarettes and a newspaper without the clerk knowing. B Horton proceeds out the doors and recognizes a security camera as he walks to his car. Later he is contacted and tried for theft. Some believe the camera was an invasion of his privacy but others say that Horton took from society” Webster 21) In America this was and still is a serious issue. The founders saw it coming and implanted laws against home invasions based on national security or to protect others. The fourth amendment in the Bill of Rights is one plan of action that the founding fathers implemented into the United States Constitution to give people a sense of privacy from law enforcement. Also the Fifth Amendment placed a specific procedure on how police go about arresting an individual. ...
“Freedom.” It is a word with many different connotations, but symbolizes one central idea: Liberty. Freedom has always been deeply embedded in the history of our nation. Throughout time, many Americans have fought for freedom. From the Pilgrims, who set sail from England to the shores of Cape Cod to escape religious persecution, to the Founding Fathers of America who fought for freedom from England’s oppression, our fellow Americans have always fought for what they believed in. They gained certain freedoms that they thought would not only be important to them, but to future generations. However, it is evident that society today does not value those same freedoms.