The Importance Of Civil Liberties

After September 11th, Americans looked to the government for protection and reassurance. However, they did not expect to find out thirteen years later that the government did this by using technology to spy on Americans, as well as other countries. George W. Bush began the policy shortly after the terrorist attack and Barack Obama continued it. There have been many confrontations over the years about the extent of the N.S.A.’s spying; however, the most recent whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, leaked information that caused much upset throughout America (EFF). It has also brought many people to question: is he a hero or a traitor?

Edward Snowden is considered by many to be a criminal, but there are others who firmly believe that Edward Snowden is a patriot, and rightfully so Edward Snowden is a hero to the American people and many abroad. The United States government has the responsibility to serve, protect and aid the American people, but sometimes the government and some of its classified documents every now and then get published and criticized. Edward Snowden had worked for multiple government agencies such as the CIA, NSA and prior to that an American contractor as a computer professional, and during his tenure at the NSA he had realized the grotesque and unprofessional ethics and violations of privacy against the American people, and so many innocent citizens

justified. When he left without saying goodbye, it made it easier for him to let go

Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.

With good intentions, the Patriot Act allows the government to pry into Americans' lives through computer and phone records as well as credit and banking history (Source 5). This oversteps the U.S. Constitution as the First and Fourth Amendment were created to give citizens freedom and the right to deny search and seizure

Another issue in this case is the “theft” that Snowden partook in. Theft is the “act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny” ("Theft | Define Theft at Dictionary.com." xx). This aspect of the case is important because Snowden’s actions reject the cultural norms of what is expected of individuals in respect to the term. These expectations within our culture is for individuals to not commit acts of theft.

In the mist of America ending its wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan here in the homeland we are still be proactive in trying to alleviate terrorist threats and opportunities for terroristic activity in our backyards. When looking at the USA PATRIOT ACT that was enacted to help battle this ongoing pandemic it has come into question whether the laws of the USA PATRIOT ACT extremely broad, narrow, and overarching that they leave too much room for interpretation which in the end has led to violations of a person’s rights that they are guaranteed by the US Constitution.

" In the late eighteenth century, after the United States of America achieved their independence from their former ruler, American leaders decided that their country was in need of a new document to rule over it. They took upon themselves the task of drafting the Constitution, which has been the supreme law since its ratification. As part of its Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment protects American citizens from ""unreasonable searches and seizures"". While the internet did not exist for a couple more centuries, this right that citizens have expands and changes as society does, therefore internet protection falls under the umbrella of the Fourth Amendment. The government monitoring the internet could be considered illegal under this fourth

Opening, The Patriot Act provides an easy excuse for governmental individuals to intrude on citizens' privacy. As "The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty," expresses, "Examining business records often provides the key that investigators are looking for to solve a wide range of crimes. Investigators might seek select records from hardware stores or chemical plants, for example, to find out who bought materials to make a bomb, or bank records to see who's sending money to terrorists. Law enforcement authorities have always been able to obtain business records in criminal cases through grand jury subpoenas, and continue to do so in national security cases where appropriate." The previous excerpt justifies the claim that the act is a

Quigley explains in his article how a number of well known, governmental organizations have been keeping big amounts of surveillance of the US and other people a secret from the public. They have the capability to seize and search any and all internet and text communications that enter and/or leave the US. The government does not need permission to access anyone’s personal conversations it is a decision based on a group of official people within the government. It can be used against the individual without them knowing

They feel this restricts the freedoms of the college students because of their findings that the Department of Homeland Security submitted this information to the Pentagon as a possible terrorist threat due to the information gathered by spying on the students (ACLU). In 2008, the ACLU sued the Department of Homeland Security for the invasion of privacy. The Department of Homeland Security had recently allowed officials to search laptops and electronic devices at the United States borders (Albanesius). This search of personal property could be a violation of the Fourth Amendment which guards against unreasonable searches of one’s possessions and his person. Another amendment that could be found in violation by the Department of Homeland Security because of either of these cases is the Ninth Amendment. Some have found this amendment to be a broad protection of privacy (UMKC Law Dept.). The Christian Science Monitor also voices concern over the pervasiveness of the Homeland Security Act in our daily lives even before the act was passed (Chaddock). These events demonstrate that the Homeland Security Act has some faults that lead to what some perceive as constitutional infringements and little improvement in order at the cost of freedom.

The act of Edward Snowden has created tension between the Europeans and Americans. Because of Edwards Snowden up rising countries has started to be more worry some around the U.S . European leaders spoked out about the NSA and accused the U.S of spying on the american leaders without permission. But gladly Europe and the U.S both issued a statement to agree to stay together as allied neighbors (UPI International Intelligence, 2013, para. 4). Hopyfully one day Edward Snowdens act will be news of the past and the U.S will have an even stronger bond with the other countries than before. Edward Snowden has many reasons for what he has done but he did it for what he thought was best for the people and not his own self interest.

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the

This knowledge troubled him deeply. In fact, so acutely that he made it a priority to covertly collect over a million highly classified documents that spoke of the U.S. government’s surreptitious surveillance programs. These are programs that were put in place under President George W. Bush after 9/11. Snowden began to construct a databank of evidence to support his case for what he believed was “invasive and disturbing” undercover spy-like actions by the U.S. government (Edward Snowden Biography, n.d.).

The fact Snowden chose to leak only information he and his media connections felt would not be detrimental to the public or government, yet would provide enough information that the public as to start an open debate on “big brother” oversight and privacy laws, shows that Snowden was in good faith and conscious leaking information for good and not for personal gains.