USA Patriot Act

Alef Esteban

Section 2

Week 6

The USA Patriot Act: A Sketch

            The reading explained the implications of enforcing the Patriot Act that resulted from the events on September 11, 2001. This reading served to inform rather than put bias on a side. After reading, I realized that the act gave the United States more domestic power as well as extend their international influence. Going to the international aspect, it appears that the United States can intervene with foreign affairs when suspicion arises. Even if they do this the United States can seemingly make up any reason that can be molded to pertain to their own agendas. Domestically, the government can assert their power over citizens and this can be seen as intrusive, especially when something simple might appear malicious in the eyes of the government. Not only does this intrude on citizens' privacy, this opens up the idea of racial profiling. People of certain nationalities might be targeted because of the "tendencies" experienced with past criminal events. Somehow this reminds me of the Red Scare era where people would be paranoid about each other and left to believe that their neighbor is the enemy due to communism influence. Similar to these events, people believed to be communist would be investigated in hopes that this will make for a safer country. There are sacrifices to be made when it comes to making the country safer, but there also needs to be a balance between protecting citizens versus taking away freedoms or privacy.

Question: Have people drastically changed their lives because of the Patriot Act and if so, was it for the better or worse?

Source: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/316/3/5/Patriot_Act_Editorial_Cartoon_by_huxtiblejones.jpg

The Patriot Act gives the American citizens a false sense of security by luring them with "American" ideals and convincing them that this is beneficial for the country.