Professor Maxwell
EWRT 1A
August 9, 2007
Defending our freedom in the midst of a crisis
Our government has always been involved in injustice actions from the moment it was created. It has been kept in balance by our complex political structure and the media, but that is no longer the case now. Our media coverage is being more limited by the day, and it is now up to the people of America to keep this country free. However, the issue I am focusing on is the idea of how far the government can go in order to ensure the security of this nation. Our nation is currently in a war against terrorism. Under the USA Patriot Act, the government has requested that we turn over our civil liberties in exchange for the safety of this nation. This is not the first time our government has taken away our civil liberties under the reason of national security. Each time it has happened, the government abused the power. I believe that it is time we step up and take action against the Patriot Act because of its using terrorism as an excuse for violating our constitutional rights.Beginning in 2001, several months after September 11, President George W. Bush signed a 352-page document titled the USA Patriot Act, which granted the federal government agencies such as CIA and FBI all necessary powers in need to counter the spread of terrorism worldwide. Government agencies can tap into your phone lines, email communication, bank records, and even library account without the supervision of a jury or any evidence that you have committed crime. Theses are clear violations of the third amendment which prevents unreasonable search and seizures of personal documents without a probably cause. Several recent incidents have shown that the government has been using these spying powers not to counter terrorism but instead to target drug traffickers, anti government organizations, and even homeless people. The law enforcement officials would obtain illegal evidence using spying privileges and then use them against these people in court. These were clearly not the reason why we gave up our freedoms to the government.
On top of this, thousands of immigrants were detained and denied the right to habeas corpus shortly after September 11, simply because they posed a threat to national security. This is another constitutional amendment violation, which grants people the right to a lawyer until proven guilty. We have all seen the cruel images of prison torture at sites like Abu Gharab and Guantanomo Bay. Immigrants are brought there and then painfully tortured and humiliated until they gave information. Some of these immigrants weren’t even guilty in the first place, and they ended up being deported in secret. No one knows their story besides their family.
One would think that with so much power granted to the government, terrorism activities would be much lower than before. However, recent attacks across the globe including the London subway bombing have shown otherwise. Is this the kind of power that our government should have? So, we ask ourselves if our government is seeking all these extra privileges under the name of fighting terrorism and terrorism is obviously not being stopped, then why are we still allowing them to take advantage of our rights? Some might argue that since there has been no attacks on America since September 11, that our government must be doing something right. But let me ask you this, has our government ever proven that they aren’t able to carry out the war against terrorism without our civil liberties? The answer is no, never has our government ever shown that our civil rights were needed to be taken away in order to fight terrorism at all.
History has shown that whenever our government gains extra privileges during times of national crisis, it is usually the recipe for disaster. During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans were stripped of their homes, properties and then sent into internment camps because of a fear that they might be spies for the enemy. In the Watergate Scandal, President Nixon used government spying privileges to spy on his political opponents. During the 1980s, FBI and CIA used the same spying privileges to monitor political and civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. When the American people found out about these a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) was set up to make sure that the government does not cross the line again. If government repeatedly government abuse of our civil rights have been shown in the past, then they are likely to occur again.
Our government is operating with more and more secrecy by the day. The only thing that is keeping them in check are the human civil rights groups such as the ACLU, and the media. The media itself is becoming less and less reliable by the day as the number of news sources decrease. Therefore, who is there to keep our government in check besides us? It is time for us to act now. Our government rarely target their political propaganda at us because they know teenagers rarely vote. However, it is time to prove them wrong.
Most teenagers of the 21st century do not have much regard for what is going on around the world. They feel that they lack the power and knowledge to make a difference in the world. When I was writing essay number 2 on how language has affected my ability to express myself, I thought to myself how can my ideas ever be as valuable as those of Richard Rodriguez or Gloria Anzaldua. However, then I realized that as a teenager I have personally made a difference in the past, for example I have already convinced a countless number of people to take a stand against the USA Patriot. Whether it is giving persuasive speech in public or merely talking privately with a friend, I have made a difference. Everyone has a power to make a difference especially teenagers like us. We have developed the ability to think about the legitimacy of the issues that are floating around. We have the fundamental knowledge to know what is right and wrong. It is time to put that power to the test.
If you believe as I do that the USA Patriot Act is taking away our privacy and legal rights illegally then I suggest you take action now. It’s very easy to participate in this issue in fact, recently Youtube has hosted the democratic candidate debate, and if you simply go on their website and listen to what the political candidates have to say about their stand on this issue than you are going to be a lot better off than someone who didn’t watch it. Off course, the biggest impact teenagers can make is to vote. In the upcoming presidential election, research into the candidates, and see what views they have and then choose the right candidate that will perform the duty. The USA Patriot Act was renewed in 2004, lets not let it happen again. Like Reverend Martin Luther King Jr said “there are two types of laws: There are just and there are unjust laws” (King). It is our responsibility as citizens of this nation to take a stand against unjust laws like the Patriot Act. It is clearly using terrorism as a excuse to take away our rights to privacy and legal justice. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, we must be brave enough to hold onto our freedoms even during the most difficult situations.
Works Cited.
King Jr., Martin L. "Letter From Birmingham City Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.
No comments:
Post a Comment