This issue interests me because it pertains to the safety of Americans. Other political issues have the potential to greatly impact our lives, but they can only do so if our lives are safe. Possibly having the federal government listen in on a harmless phone call is a small price to pay in order to avoid another catastrophe like that of 9/11.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Interest in Political Issue
One political issue that I am interested in is national security. There was much backlash after 9/11 that the new government actions designed to protect us from further attacks were an infringement on personal rights. The lengthy Patriot Act, which increased the power of the federal government to run surveillance over those in the country without prior notice, received much scrutiny for being a violation of privacy.
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I would completely agree with your take that the Patriot Act makes necessary sacrifices for the safety of Americans IF the Constitution did not protect those same civil liberties of citizens. If the Patriot Act is considered constitutional, then I feel that the Constitution must be ammended to make it permissible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that national security is a very important issue. I also agree that the loss of some privacy is a harmless price to pay. If the government didn't take these measures, there is a very high chance that a catastrophe of 9/11's caliber could've occurred.
ReplyDeleteNational security is definitely extremely important, but I agree with Ethan in that the Patriot Act is unconstitutional, and infringes upon rights granted in the Bill of Rights. Protecting against terrorism is without a doubt, a good thing, but at the cost of privacy. In this stage it's not harmful, but I am worried that it will mutate into something that does damage and eliminate privacy of the public.
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