Persuasive Essay On National Security

Introduction:
The horrific tragedies on September 11, 2001 changed the course of American national security for decades to come. It took a while for Americans to recover from the sadness, loss and confusion of the attacks. The American government knew that Al Qaeda–the terrorist organization that orchestrated the attacks–was still posing a huge threat to our nation’s security.
Statement of Understanding:
In response to the events that took place on 9/11, the USA/Patriot Act was passed just six weeks later. The act outlined America’s surveillance laws, increasing national airport security measures, increasing subway or mass transit security in major U.S. cities, and increasing the government’s ability to spy on its citizens. The act also
From cell phone spying on millions of innocent civilians to increasing the amount of speed cameras on roads, the federal government and local police departments should slow their progress toward allowing our government to become a shadow of our citizen’s lives. It is difficult to make a trip to and from the grocery store without being watched by security cameras on streets or buildings, having your cell phone traced by the FBI or simply having your license plate scanned by cameras on a police interceptor. The reality of America “being systematically transformed into a giant surveillance grid” is steadily approaching (Michael para
The United States Government is currently aiming to include unmanned aerial drones as a component of domestic, state and local law enforcement activities (Michael para 5). In a hospital in New York, bathrooms are now being watched. Sensors indicate when employees come in and out of the bathroom. Cameras that are attached to sinks monitor each employee’s hands as they are being washed (Stellpflug para 1). Recently, Governor Martin O’Malley has instituted a tax on for the amount of rain that falls on residents’ property. “The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated through satellite surveillance of your property" (Boyle para 4). The level of absurdity expressed by each method only gives way to more outlandish modes of surveillance. The more we let our guards down to these invasions of privacy, the more we become de-sensitized to the Eye of Saruman. Each intrusive example of a method to gain more information about the nation also shows the extent to which the U.S. Government is willing to go to create a petri dish out of its own