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Does the US Patriot Act undermine Americans' freedoms?
Results so far:
| Yes | 78% | 373 votes | Total: 481 votes | |
| No | 22% | 108 votes |
Yes
by Alec Hemphill
Created on: September 23, 2009 Last Updated: September 24, 2009
Patriotism and Freedom: One and the Same?
What comes to mind when we think of patriotism? Is it military service? Unwavering devotion to our flag and countrymen? Perhaps we imagine doing right by our nation, regardless of personal consequence. These may all be true, but what is commonly thought of is the ideology of freedom. Freedom is a word much like love - we all have our own personal definition - but, for the most part, we are able to agree on this: Freedom is the ability to live our lives as we wish, so long as we do not infringe on the freedoms or civil liberties of those around us.
The question is, though, are we not compromising our own freedoms and civil liberties when we engage in our new and distorted idea of patriotism? Is this, in truth, nationalism disguised in American flag pins, "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers, and "Let's Roll America" radio-jingles? The answer, I believe, is an absolute and resounding yes.
Presently, especially under the current administration, we often hear the talking heads of the mass-media outlets speaking about freedom from an economical standpoint. They talk about the dangers of socialism to our free-market system. They criticize government "bailouts" of businesses in the private sector. They remind us that a free nation like the U.S. needs to sustain this financial process in order to maintain our "freedom."
All the while, they promote government entities such as the military, the police, and international intelligence agencies. There seems to me, to be some sort of a syntax error between the masses. By touting a free-trade market as being the epitome of freedom, they are (whether intentionally or not) desensitizing us to the fact that our civil liberties are dwindling, and it is those said entities that are responsible for this loss of liberty.
We are thought to believe that taxation is proportionately linked to freedom while disregarding all the past and recent intrusions on our privacy and the profiling of entire demographics of people under the banner of freedom and protection. Yes, the people of this country enjoy the feeling of protection, whether it is the day-to-day protection of the police on the streets or the military protection of the homeland.
But it is an unfortunate fact that as we grow our government for the sake of our safety, we also shrink our freedoms as a whole and open ourselves up to a more discretionary police state.
Following World War II, America saw one of the most obvious and compelling examples for this argument with "McCarthyism". During the second Red Scare, thousands of law-abiding U.S. citizens were rounded up like cattle for various, unjustified reasons and interrogated due to the unsubstantiated, slandering accusations of Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy (1947-1957).
McCarthy had compiled a list containing various liberals and leftists and accused them of being "card-carrying Communists" and a danger to our free nation. These included college professors, notables in the media, artists, union activists and even homosexuals. The accused were investigated by government and private boards; the social stigma of simply being suspected of communist sympathy was devastating.
Many lost their jobs, some were jailed, families fell apart and lives were ruined. These flagrant abuses of liberty were, of course, done in the name of freedom. While many American citizens listened to and acted on the direction given by Senator McCarthy as "patriots", they were operating under a nationalistic premise and defeating the true definition of freedom.
Patriotism is an equally difficult term to ascribe an empirical definition to, but there needs to be a definitive line drawn between patriotism and nationalism. To give a basic differentiating definition of the two, patriotism is the belief that one's nation and people are good; nationalism is the belief that one's government makes a nation good.
Nationalism in practice often has catastrophic results. One must look only to Nazi Germany to see how a people's blind faith in their government's competence can spiral out of control. Nationalism is almost always linked directly to dictatorship, and as we fearfully enact our government to protect us at all costs. We enable these federal agencies to oppress us with unchecked discretionary power as seen in the Patriot Act.
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans felt that something, anything at all, needed to be done. But to date, the only infringements on our civil liberties have been set in place by our own government. This is a perfect example of patriotism turned nationalism and the repercussions suffered. As Albert Einstein once said, "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
It is imperative that we as U.S. citizens, make this distinction before we are living under an Orwellian "Big Brother". Our nation was founded on freedom by all definitions, and patriotism used to mean standing up against tyranny, whether it be domestic or foreign, not giving in or living under it. We have to read between the lines of what the media feeds us and make our own choices about what freedom is and what civil liberties are necessary to us.
We also have to establish a balance between self-policing and federal protectionism. We cannot continue to be apathetic about our situation of dwindling rights or we will soon completely lose the liberty our forefathers had envisioned for this great nation. Benjamin Franklin put it most simply, "Those who would sacrifice liberties for security deserve neither."
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No
by Brandon Michael Davis
Created on: June 15, 2007 Last Updated: January 09, 2012
The Patriot Act was created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as a response to the United States’ evident need for better counterterrorism tools. The overarching purpose for the Patriot Act is most simply revealed through its name, an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”
In other words, the purpose of this act is to provide the federal government with the resources and authority necessary to detect and thwart terror plots and to prosecute those involved.
But this act has stirred up controversy among some politicians and civil liberties groups who see the Patriot Act as granting the government too much unrestricted access into the private lives of innocent US citizens. They argue that the authority granted by the act undergoes too little oversight and establishes a precedent for further prying into the lives of individual citizens.
These claims aren’t difficult to believe—most people have read books, watched movies, or seen TV shows in which the government has seemingly infinite insight into peoples’ lives and has the ability to watch any individual’s every move. And a main reason these themes are so prevalent in modern literature and entertainment is the fear that as technology advances and government grows, abuse will occur.
But while certain politicians and civil liberties groups prey on this fear, the underlying issue is whether or not their claims are accurate. Does the Patriot Act grant the government too much power without enough oversight?
Controversial Elements of USA PATRIOT Act
The most controversial part of the Patriot Act is Title II: Enhanced Surveillance Procedures. Within this part of the act, the power of the government to obtain surveillance—intended for but not always limited to suspected terrorists—is greatly increased.
—Section 213
Section 213 of this act enables law enforcement to obtain warrants for covert searches. Such warrants allow officers to execute secret searches without prior notice—although the target of the search must be notified soon thereafter.
Part of the criticism of these covert searches is the ambiguity of when notice must be given. According to the law, “the warrant provides for the giving of such notice within a reasonable period of its execution, which period may thereafter be extended by the court for good cause shown” (USA PATRIOT Act).
But covert searches are allowed only when a judge finds that a normal warrant will result in one or more of the following adverse results: “(A) endangering the life or physical safety of an individual; (B) flight from prosecution; (C) destruction of or tampering with evidence; (D) intimidation of potential witnesses; or (E) otherwise seriously jeopardizing an investigation or unduly delaying a trial” (US Code).
In the context of terrorism, such covert searches are extremely helpful because if the target of the warrant is indeed a terrorist, the likelihood that evidence will be compromised is high. And the terrorist may have opportunity to warn other terrorists—which would handicap further investigation.
In 2003, funding for covert searches was cut off. But the law hasn’t been changed, and will remain unless amended.
—Section 215
Another controversial section of the Patriot Act is Section 215, which provides law enforcement with access to business records. The controversy surrounding this section arose when library groups argued that the law could be used to obtain patrons’ reading records.
But twice within this section the law indicates that such an investigation can “not be conducted of a United States person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States” (USA PATRIOT Act). The law requires evidence pertaining to a foreign intelligence and/or terrorist investigation—the government cannot simply dig through business records without probable cause.
—Sections 206, 209, & 220
Other parts of the act have been criticized by a variety of individuals and groups—but the other controversial elements of the law relate to expanding of jurisdiction (Sec. 220), easing access to certain warrants (Sec. 209), and broadening the use of roving wiretaps (Sec. 206). These changes—while important to the timely prosecution of crime—are relatively minor in the context of civil rights because they do not eliminate the need for probable cause or the accountability provided by the courts.
The Patriot Act & Your Freedoms
Is it possible that innocent citizens may undergo surveillance as a result of the Patriot Act? Yes—but this is highly unlikely.
Unintentional misuse and intentional abuse of this law is possible—as with every law. But even in the rare event that an innocent person is investigated using the tools provided by the Patriot Act, this law serves the greater good. The Patriot Act equips our law enforcement against terrorism and other criminal activity—and has certainly resulted in life-saving action.
Although critics of the law want people to think it makes everyone vulnerable to the prying eyes of the government, the fact is that law enforcement continues to need probable cause in order to obtain search warrants. And unless you give the police or FBI cause to obtain a search warrant, you have nothing to worry about.
Works Consulted
Larry Abramson & Maria Godoy. “The Patriot Act: Key Controversies.” National Public Radio (NPR). December 2005. http://www.npr.org/n ews/specials/patriot act/patriotactdeal.h tml. Accessed January 2012.
“Patriot Act.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT _Act. Accessed January 2012.
“Patriot Act Extensions Signed by Obama.” Huffington Post. May 2011. http://www.huffingto npost.com/2011/05/27 /patriot-act-extensi on-signed-obama-auto pen_n_867851.html. Accessed January 2012.
“Surveillance Under the USA PATRIOT Act.” American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). December 2010. http://www.aclu.org/ national-security/su rveillance-under-usa -patriot-act. Accessed January 2012.
“USA PATRIOT Act (H.R.3162).” Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). http://epic.org/priv acy/terrorism/hr3162 .html. Accessed January 2012.
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