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The Patriot Act Is A Tricky Thing

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Creating a law is a tricky thing. No matter what is decided upon someone will end up unhappy. Unlike most laws that are made, the Patriot Act is highly controversial and a double-edge sword. Some think it is to help keep our nation safer against future acts of terror. Others think it is a complete disregard of our constitutional rights. This program is by all measure a violation and neglect of every American individual’s civil liberties. The NSA surveillance program as authorized by section 215 of the Patriot act does violate Americans’ civil liberties and is incompatible with representative democracy because it violates a person’s freedom of speech, one’s right to worship freely, taking away our fourth amendment right and is violating…show more content…
Our freedom of speech is being taken away from us by this unconstitutional act. It is interfering with this civil liberty be causing us to censor what we say. This censoring of on our own is called a chilling on speech. This typically occurs when the average person is afraid of the consequences that could be hurled upon them for exercising their right of free speech. “The NSA and FBI also have been obtaining photographs, emails, documents, videos, and connection logs…This program, also top secret, is code-named PRISM and technically meant for spying on foreign targets” (Dickson). We should not have to be afraid and watch what we say when we clearly have to freedom and protection to say what we want, in good reason of course. Anti-Federalists fought for our civil liberties because they were afraid the government would be too strong. “They are listed primarily in the Bill of Rights, the ten amendments added to the US Constitution once the first 9 states ratified them in 1791” (Rivera, 2/25). This is a basic right that every American is entitled to. This government in no way, for any reason, should move in on and slowly take away these rights. This is not the only part of the first amendment that is being neglected. The freedom of religion for some is being impeded on. Religion is something that anyone should be able to express freely and without worry of persecution or consequence. The PRISM program searches through, “Church, synagogue, and mosque
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