Giving Up Freedom

Kristine Severo
Reading Reflection #6
The USA Patriot Act: A Sketch

The Patriot Act was passed after the 9/11 attacks against the US. It essentially gives federal officials greater authority intercept and track communications in order to avoid future acts of terrorism. The government has access to telephone records and emails and an also use "trap and trace" devices to gather information about the source.

For many Americans, the Patriot Act violates our rights to freedom. As Americans who live under this law, we are basically giving up our freedom in order to protect the nation from potential threats. The act is flawed in that we can only have one or the other when we should really be able to have both freedom and security. As citizens, we shouldn't have to make the compromise.

Under the Patriot Act, the government is able to gather a lot of our personal information to create personal profiles in order to see whether or not someone is engaging in acts of terrorism. This is personally a blatant invasion of privacy, especially to those who are innocent. It is argued that under the Patriot Act, citizens shouldn't be too concerned especially if they have nothing to hide. However, to know that the government is always keeping a watchful eye on you and has access to your personal life is disconcerting and violates our freedom to privacy. Because of the power that the Patriot Act gives to the government, American citizens are essentially subjecting themselves to the government, whether or not we are suspected terrorists. It also becomes an issue because there is no certain criteria to be considered a terrorist - instead, the government takes our personal information and decides that for themselves. In a way, the act promotes the persecution of citizens that are innocent. While it seems that the intentions of the Patriot Act are supposed to be good, I feel it needs to be re-evaluated and re-structured so that citizens don't feel that their rights have been violated.

QUESTION: How much privacy are citizens willing to give up in order to protect our nation from terrorism? By giving up our freedom, are we really guaranteed security?