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Tanner Corns
Mrs. Gurley
English 1213
13 September 2013
Privacy an Surveillance
The con!lict bet"een privacy an sa!ety has al"ays been a controversial issue in
the #nite States. $hen our country "as !oune% "e in&t have rones% vieo
cameras% an phones' yet our !ouning !athers remaine eeply concerne "ith
privacy. (nyone "ho "ants to con!irm this simply nees to rea some o! the
(menments in the )ill o! *ights% particularly the Thir an +ourth (menments% an
,arguably- the .inth. The Thir (menment eclare that soliers coul not /uarter
themselves in private homes "ithout the consent o! the o"ners. (lthough this is
signi!icantly less important no" than it "as then% it e0presses that our country "as built
on principles that respecte privacy rights. This is !urther emonstrate in the +ourth
(menment% "hich prohibits search an sei1ures "ithout "arrants that are bac2e up
by Probable Cause. The .inth (menment contens that there are rights not in the
Constitution "hich shoul still be protecte. Several very important Supreme Court
cases concerning privacy have cite the .inth (menment in their ruling.
(lthough privacy rights have al"ays been a source o! controversy an heate
ebate% several important events in recent ecaes have given this issue ne"!oun
importance. +irst is the rise o! electronic evices such as cell3phones% computers%
laptops% an other similar gagets. These things ma2e it much easier !or the
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government to monitor the activity an communication o! the people that use them. The
secon important event that a!!ecte privacy "ere the attac2s on 4511% an the
subse/uent la"s that !ollo"e. 6n recent years% the usage o! aerial rones above #.S.
soil has also raise privacy concerns.
6n the "a2e o! 4511% the #.S. "as unerstanably in a !ren1y to !igure out "hat
ha happene an prevent !urther attac2s. Polls ta2en in the ays an "ee2s that
!ollo"e the attac2s sho"e that a large ma7ority o! the (merican public believe that
another attac2 "as imminent. The government /uic2ly put together a bill% calle the
Patriot (ct% that signi!icantly increase its po"er to monitor an spy on (merican
citi1ens% in the name o! !ighting terrorism. They reasone ,perhaps correctly- that the bill
"as necessary to prevent !uture attac2s. 6n the panic that !ollo"e 4511% there "as little
chance a bill that "as purporte to prevent terrorist attac2s "oul !ail to be passe by
congress. (las% the bill "as passe% unanimously in the Senate an "ith only t"o
opposing votes in the 8ouse o! *epresentatives.
(n then that post34511 !ren1y an panic began to subsie' an as that
happene% people became more an more ivie on the Patriot (ct. 6n 2011% the (ct
"as rene"e by Congress. So the ebate continues to this ay. Those that support it
argue that it is a necessary tool to !ight terrorism. Those that are against it eclare that it
goes too !ar in the name o! !ighting terrorism an is a signi!icant encroachment on cvil
liberties.
So% "hat&s my stance on all o! this9 6&m not totally sure. This is not because 6
on&t 2no" anything about the topic. 6&m a ne"s 7un2ie% an 6&ve chec2e the ne"s
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about a o1en times a ay !or years. )ut it ta2es a lot o! evience !or me to ta2e a sure
sie on an issue an !eel that 6&m e!initely right about it. Ever since 6 starte !orming
political opinions% 6&ve e!initely been more on the privacy sie o! the privacy vs. sa!ety
ebate. 6n tenth grae 6 rea 1984% an it ha a huge impact on me. Ever since then% 6
al"ays notice things that remin me o! )ig )rother. 6 on&t thin2 "e&re any"here close to
1984% but 6&m al"ays loo2ing out !or signs that "e are getting closer an closer. 6 thin2
personal privacy is tremenously important an is a basic human right that everyone
eserves. )ut then again% maybe the Patriot (ct an other similar la"s have prevente
attac2s on the scale o! 4511 or even "orse. Maybe these la"s have save thousans or
even millions o! lives. $ho 2no"s9 6 have no iea ho" e!!ective they&ve been. $hich is
"hy 6 can&t say !or sure "hat my stance is on this issue.
6! 6 "as in Congress right no"% "oul 6 vote to repeal it9 Probably not. )ut 6 o
thin2 that those in po"er shoul put serious thought into amening the bill in a "ay that
respects personal privacy "hile also 2eeping the nation sa!e. (n something tells me
that those in po"er really on&t care too much about oing that. .o matter "hat
government o!!icials tell us% 6 get the !eeling that they on&t care enough about impeing
on our privacy rights. 6 sense an attitue o! :"e 2no" better than you; in $ashington.
:<ust sit bac2% rela0% an let us ta2e care o! you. Come on guys% "e&re the #.S.
government= $e care about protecting your rights. >on&t "orry about it=;
$ell "e o care about it% an "e shoul. ( nation o! sheep brees a government
o! "olves.