Balancing Security And Liberty: Is One More Valuable Than The Other?

An American’s civil liberties are among some of the most important rights awarded to a citizen. After 9/11 some of those liberties were taken away by the expansion of executive power, the National Security

Since the founding of the United States of America, freedom has been the basis of the governmental and ruling systems in place. Individual freedoms are protected in both the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution, and Schwartz (2009) explains that ‘public liberty ultimately enhances collective rationality—it is a path to heightening our wisdom by increasing access to pertinent information and improving decision making’ (p. 409). However, there have been many times in history when the true freedom of citizens is called into question. There has always been controversy about how much power the government should have, who is keeping the government in check, and if citizens are properly informed about what their elected governed are doing. The passing of the Patriot Act in 2001 was no exception to this controversy. The

Tyranny is a monster; a dictatorship in full force, and one operation that can demise the greatness and the tenacious power of a country within months. But the United States of America, the country with the longest standing Constitution in history, disregards tyranny as impertinent, as George Washington had once said, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which may include their own government.” The United States Constitution encompasses the fundamental laws and provides the guarantee of many basic rights to the citizens of the country. It establishes the national government of the United States. The document

The U.S Constitution, famously known for establishing America’s national government and providing fundamental laws assuring citizens certain basic fundamental rights was a milestone in our countries beginning. In today’s society, especially with all the turmoil happening between people and governing bodies the rights which the Constitution provides is saving many Americans from being treated poorly or as most would say “unconstitutionally.” The Constitution is simply one of the most distinct and brilliant documents to ever see the light of day. Although some may have little to no knowledge of the Constitution, it

Are you familiar with the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution? The Founders of our American government created the Bill of Rights to protect our individual liberties. They greatly believed in the significance of the overall creation of these particular rights, which happens to be the basic freedoms of us Americans. However, our government has compromised on these distinct liberties in the name of security and general welfare in various ways.

In our society today, we have a government that was made the founding fathers of the constitution. The founding fathers created the way, our government is by making the constitution. As a society, individuals give up rights in order to feel safe and not have one branch of government to control our government. This is why the framers created the bill of rights, so that individuals would have their rights protected. Did the bill of rights always protect the rights given to the people? During times of crises, individuals lose or are limited in the powers that were given to the people of any country. The Unites States was no exception. The framers during the late 1790S were in fear of the French influence on our newly founded nation. With the fear of influence of outside forces, our government passed the sedition act in 1798. The sedition act limited our first and tenth amendment rights and gave our government more discretion to label individuals criminals. Is it right for our government to restrict our individual rights for the safety of the whole nation? In this essay, I will argue how the sedition act of 1798 was unconstitutional and how it violated our amendment rights. I will also take a look at how the sedition act came to be and why the government and president during that time agreed with the law. Does our government always have the best interest of the nation, or is it self-interest?

Liberty vs. Security; both are seemingly broad terms, but due to current events, circumstances have occured resulting in an infringement on liberty because of issues regarding national security thus, creating problems for citizens and politicians alike. Liberty is best defined as a concept that identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his/her free will[1]. Security is the degree of protection from danger, loss, or criminals[2]. The problem lies in that there are many different views on what the government’s role on the proper balance between the two should be. The proper balance between liberty and security is an equilibrium unless in specific events or time periods where

The preservation of our civil rights and liberties is essential to the health of our democracy, particularly when they are threatened in the name of national security or patriotism. We, as a nation must not lose our essential rights; they are what make our country great. Everyone living in the U.S., regardless of citizenship status, should receive equal treatment under the law. I feel like we must seek continuously seek new solutions to make America safe without diminishing our fundamental freedoms, which I feel are very important. The United States’ efforts to protect the nation are best served by laws that also protect the fundamental human rights of all who live here. Right now, more than ever, we need to have the courage to stand up for our core values of liberty, democracy, and justice for

Often our nation sees as a symbol of freedom to the world; however, since the events of 9/11 the U.S congress signed into law the U.S Patriot Act. This legislation extends the power of the government by strengthening its oversight authority over the nation, claiming protection of the national security against potential foreign threats. As an American citizen, I agree with some of the terms and measures adopted under the Patriot Act in which the government needs to intercept, obstruct, and monitor terrorism actions keeping us safe from potential attacks without violating any of our civil rights. However, the act fails to secure American liberties, facilitating and encourages the government to become authoritarian with the pretext idea of national security purpose, exposing millions of Americans lives to serious and potential abuses of corruptions, fraud and discrimination by taking away our freedoms and liberty rights guarantee by the U.S Constitution, assuming that giving politicians authoritarian powers will make America a safer place to live. On the Other hand as a Law abiding citizen I’m not willing to sacrifice and been taking away my constitutional rights in exchange for national security purpose, because if we continue like that, we would be further away from an ideal democracy society, losing confidence and support to our government system that eliminates the American ideal of check and balance power for their own ends.

After losing 2,977 lives one fateful September morning, we realized we left the doors to our country wide open to attack. As a result, we ramped up our security and instituted new programs to combat terrorism to make ourselves invulnerable to similar attacks. But as the government began to develop programs within the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) to prevent such an attack from ever happening again, the government began to infringe on the rights which were laid down in the Constitution by our founding fathers. Although the American government protected its people from another possible attack, the government itself attacked its own people by denying the rights which it formerly recognized.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once said “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” In America’s society today, some are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties in order to gain protection and security over some potential threat. Especially after the events of September 11th and several attempted bombings in U.S. cities. This sacrifice of individual freedoms such as the freedom of speech, expression, the right to information, to new technologies, and so forth, for additional protection is more of a loss than a gain. Citizens of the United States deserve equal liberty and safety overall, as someone should not have to give up

The United States Constitution protects the rights of every U.S. citizen from every background, culture or religion. Here are some of the rights and responsibilities that every citizen should exercise and respect to ensures that America continues to be a free and prosperous nation.

Imagine waking up and not being able to choose what you are going to do today. Imagine not being able to speak your mind. Imagine having your life controlled by the government. That’s how our lives would be if we lost our freedoms. Certain freedoms are given to us under the Bill of Rights, but every day we take some of these rights for granted, and we don't acknowledge the freedoms of our country. The freedoms of religion, speech, and expression are protected under the First Amendment. On the other hand, arguments about what is protected in the Bill of Rights have recently surfaced.

As Benjamin Franklin once said “A people who would trade liberty for security deserve neither”. I totally agree in that we as the people of the United States should not ask for greater safety at the price of liberty. I feel that the government does not have the power to limit our First Amendment rights. The people of this country hold the power and politicians are merely their puppets. These leaders can ask for all kinds of authority during a time like this but all it would take is a string backlash from the public for them to back down. What is it about a time like this that renders these rights so unnecessary? People fought incredibly hard and gave their lives for these standards and for us to discard them at a time like this is

Finally, security loses its worth if not accompanied by rights. Benjamin Franklin states that "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither liberty or safety" Without Liberty, Security is purposeless. The entire purpose of national security is to protect the American way of life and what our nation