Why We Need The Best Decision?

The events that took place on September 11th 2001 have forever changed the United Sates. On that day it was clear that our borders were not secure. Our nation’s security was questioned, and our national security plan, as a result, had to change. President Bush did what he felt was needed at the time, laying out the foundation for a surveillance apparatus, involving the Patriot Act and the National Security Agency. This United States’ surveillance apparatus though, draws a thin line between privacy and security, forcing us to trade our liberty for security. By trading our liberty for security we lose both, and thus, move towards losing our democracy.

Friday November 11th, I saw many articles of history claiming that government surveillance has been happening since Watergate and after the 9/11 attacks. Jane Harman implies that security sparked from the mistake of not protecting enough (Harman). The USA PATRIOT Act gave the government the authority to research forms of communication prior to 9/11 (“Domestic”). President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency, NSA, to look into the media and is believed to be the largest intelligence agency in the United States (“Domestic”). NSA has a location in Utah that can hold about 100 years of international data (Maney). Also, Lauren Regan claims that the new facility will be 1.5 million square feet (Regan 32). It’s shocking that they’ve made that big of a

The advanced technology makes it possible that our government can have access to any individuals’ private information, including their daily schedules, emails, friend cycles, social network accounts, eating habits, buying behaviors, and the places they frequently visit. Solove finds that the government often uses the way of surveillance to imperceptibly control people’s lives (345). It means that the government has deprived individuals of their freedom in a way that monitors their every move. For instance, people may avoid talking about ISIS on the phone with others under the surveillance because they are afraid of whether their conversation will be taken out of context and misinterpreted by the authorities. Being watched by the government, people may choose to change their behaviors to adapt to the government’s value and interest. Living in a democratic society, people should freely choose what they want to share and what they need to hide. Thus, the government’s surveillance deprives people of their right to live their lives and share their opinions at will, keeping them being controlled by those in power.

As much as they may deny it, the government possesses many ways to watch our actions. Whether it be through our emails, internet history, or even our phones, the government has a way to watch us. This is also seen in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, where everyone living in the authoritarian government of Oceania are constantly monitored through a telescreen. Through the telescreens, the government, known as the Party, is able to accurately see and hear whatever anyone is doing anywhere within their homes while also constantly feeding their citizens propaganda glorifying the Party.. Any discovered form of opposition against the Party and their “overseer,” Big Brother, is dealt with by the Thought Police, who are the enforcers of the Party.

The government knows how to keep the public in order, by fear and being overly strict. Without a doubt, we all know the government want us, the people, to stay “stupid”, so we end up under their control, however the article entitled 4 Core American Principles That Can Rejuvenate Our Country, states that the first principle is for the government to understand the public. I think that is already done, that’s how they stay on top, by overruling us in fear. For example, they allow us to think we have privacy, nevertheless, they lie, they actually view everything we do on the internet, our phones, and even where we go while we use GPS’s. As you can see, the government already understands us and what we do, but I still don’t comprehend how that is

“The Repression of Dissent” is explained by Dr. Parenti in that the government doesn’t benefit us. The National Security Autocracy is the government loosing group authorities because the main goal of the government is to free-market globalization. According to Dr. Parenti agencies such as the FBI and CIA are intelligence agencies in which their goal “is to defeat movements at home and abroad to seek alternatives to free-market globalization” (129). In order for these advanced programs to succeed, they are required to have a lot of money in their hands. Their intelligence budget was “about $44 billion in 2005” (130). Now, agencies with this much technology have the power to spy on regular citizens and congress. For instance, the Pentagon’s

The quest for privacy and security has always been a long and arduous one, as America’s citizens “no longer care” about the lack of integrity which the American government is showing towards its citizens (Sullivan). “When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.” Sullivan explains in Privacy under attack, but does anybody care?. After the National Security Agency was accused of “systematically collecting information” on citizens’ phone calls, emails, and countless other sources, “the news media treated it as a complete revelation” (Whitehead). People throughout the country protested and condemned the government—all while they failed to realize that we have consciously permitted the government to collect and secure our private information by “giving our personal information” to companies who ask for it, and by “allowing our personal lives to be posted on media sources such as Facebook and Twitter” (Washington). Ironically enough, we ourselves have

The uncertain and ominous climate during the Cold War led Americans to allow their government to take measures of secrecy and deception that would infringe on their freedoms. The great threat felt during the Cold War was thought to have justified extremely deceptive measures on the part of the government. Halperin and Woods expand on the culture of secrecy that developed during the Cold War, and its pervasive effects: “There are intelligence agencies whose very existence is secret, whose charters and budgets are secret, and whose activities include secret paramilitary operations abroad. And millions of government documents on critical policy matters are needlessly classified, preventing essential information on foreign policy from reaching the public domain, even though disclosure would cause no appreciable harm to the national security”(Halperin 2). This disconnect between the government and the governed is only made worse by the perpetuation of secrecy in

Technology is taking over the world as we know it. Orwell predicted that technology would take control of citizen’s lives and make them have no privacy, and honestly that is not so far off. Governments can access these devices and look at what people learning, looking at, and who they are talking to. There is not much that a citizen can hide from their government. Citizens do not have as much privacy as they did even just twenty years ago. With technological advances, the world could follow the story of George Orwell’s 1984. Video surveillance is something that the government uses also, although it is not as harsh as in George Orwell’s story, but still citizen’s privacies are being invaded. According to Alex Abdo, there is a United States owned database filled with every Americans information and every one of his or her associations (Abdo). Even the United States, which is considered a country built upon freedom, is monitoring its people. The American government even tries to follow everything that its citizens do. Governments even have 64 federal websites that are helping them follow their people’s browsing and buying habits (Zuckerbrod). Governments are using their websites to monitor what people are doing. This way the government can know everything from their people’s hobbies to who their best friend is. Technology is helping the government take away their citizens privacy.

Keeping the United States of America safe from foreign threats is far from an easy task. However, preventing domestic threats is a much more complicated and delicate one. Government organizations such as the National Security Agency [NSA] are known to have invaded our privacy through our connection to technology. The NSA has publicly admitted to the surveillance. Due to media coverage, the NSA is often viewed as the main agency that bulk collects data. Emails, phone calls, and even our text messages have been surveilled under an NSA program known as “PRISM” (“Domestic Surveillance Techniques”). Everyday government organizations invade our privacy for the sake of national security in an attempt to defend us from domestic threats, but it seems they often take surveillance a step too far. United States citizens should understand legality of these actions, as well as the purpose this data collection serves.

The US government needs to find a happy medium when it comes to surveillance. According to the ACLU, “Our Constitution and democratic system demand that the government be transparent and accountable to the people, not the other way around” (ACLU 1). Of course the government needs to protect the people, but at the same time the government needs to respect the privacy of its constituents. The government is violating the people’s rights to things such as rights to privacy, free speech, due process, and association (ACLU 1). These rights have been paid for through the blood and personal sacrifice of many brave men and women throughout American history. These rights cannot be surrendered so that the government’s job can be made easier. Security is important, but the rights of Americans are too hefty of a price to pay for it. Privacy, free speech, due process, and association are critical components of American society and without it, Americans’ lives and democracy are undermined. (Russel 3)

Trying to avoid a totalitarian, propaganda-based regime like Orwell wrote about, policy-makers still have to find a way to monitor technology and protect national security. The answer is not simple, but the key is finding the right point in the gray area that lies between complete and no privacy. American citizens have a right to privacy. They have the right to do what they choose without the government monitoring their every move. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “That government is best which governs least.”

The Government has a lot more power and control over us than you may think. According to popularmechanics.com, there are an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras now deployed in the United States, shooting 4 billion hours of footage a week. Americans are being watched at all times, more than ever. George Orwell’s novel 1984 is a great example to what a government would look like if it had complete surveillance and power over its citizens. The United States might not be at the same level as Big Brother in 1984 yet, but it certainly looks like it might be going in that direction.

The foundation of America was built on the rights of its people yet the very government meant to uphold these rights is manipulating the people into relinquishing the right to privacy. Like other fears that can be exploited by others, this national fear was exploited by the United States government. The United

Some people believe that the intent of the government is actually to gain power over things that are intangible. It is true that the more power the government has, the less power the people have. However, government is centered around people giving up their personal freedoms in exchange for protection. An example of this is occurring in our government right now. There has been much controversy over President Trump_Ñés tweets, which consist of offensive words towards other countries such as North Korea and their leader. Many citizens are concerned that these tweets will put the safety of our country in jeopardy. This could be prevented if the government had to ability to check what the president puts on the internet before the world sees