Was the Patriot Act the right way to go? In my opinion, the time was right for the Patriot Act. I wasn’t very old back then when the tragedy of 9/11 happened, but I do know what people think of when a crisis happens. People needed a sense of security; they wanted the politicians to put aside their agendas, come together, and get something through that would make it tougher for terrorists to penetrate our country and infect the minds of people. What was Bush (II) supposed to do? Not do anything or not push any hard legislation through after the World Trade Center came tumbling down? The public wanted something then, so they got it. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.
However, fast forward to today and we see a high amount of surveillance amongst intelligence groups that has enabled them to infringe on the individual rights of private citizens who have done nothing wrong. The government’s ability to unmask individuals has become easier due to the Patriot Act. While I think that terrorism is still a problem today, I also think that personal liberties are important as well. Is it possible to keep our policy regarding domestic terrorism locked down on specific risk factors while keeping the government from infringing on people’s rights? If there’s a way, it hasn’t been implemented yet. Americans have been seeing an erosion of their private rights. While this erosion has been gradual, the buildup has gotten to a point where it is now noticeable for enough people to start asking questions. Therefore, while I think that the Patriot Act was the right thing to do at the time since it kept Americans safe, it has allowed the government to run around rampantly eroding the rights of private citizens.
- What is USA Patriot Act? – Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2017, from http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/Patriot-Act
