Argumentative Essay On Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden; it is a name that has caused uproar across the nation. He was the man who leaked confidential information in order to expose the operations of the government. Snowden also brought attention to the fact that many people could not have the freedom of privacy under the Patriot Act which was created in order to thwart terrorism after the 9/11 attacks. The multitudes of people were under the blind belief that they were entitled to their privacy; the government could not possibly be spying on the people without their permission. However, the government was obtaining a great wealth of information about the masses because they had the ability to track every move of the people with or without a warrant. Once this was brought to the forefront
Following the 9/11 attacks, the Patriot Act was signed in late fall of 2001. It was created to ensure that there were precautionary measures to prevent terrorist attacks; the government wanted to enhance and increase the capabilities of law enforcement in order to thwart terrorism (Stefoff 15). However, many critics felt as if the decision was made hastily because of the attacks that had recently happened at the time. These critics believed that the decision was made out of fear and urgency because The Patriot Act took only forty-five days to pass through Congress after 9/11 (Stefoff 16). They also thought that it was high risk for the citizens. In certain cases, the rights of the people could possibly be questioned as the Patriot Act seemed to invade the privacy of the public. However, the government was convinced that the Patriot Act would only help to further aid the process of fighting terrorism. There was a fund created in the Department of Treasury to pay for expenses that dealt with war. The government also wanted to ensure that no ethnic group would be treated unfairly; the individual who tried to commit the act would be the only one to blame (Stefoff 74). Military units were set up to respond to certain attacks and a whole new level of surveillance was created (Stefoff 75). Surveillance was the major issue of this act. With the help of the Patriot Act, the
In light of the situation, many countries offered Snowden asylum; he took the proposal from Russia and is currently residing there. Soon after that, the United States was bombarded with questions (Groll). The leaks revealed that German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had her phone tapped into. Further information soon came out saying that many other German people and officials alike were being spied on (Casino). This caused relations to become very unstable, however it also allowed for privacy to be brought up as a major concern around the world. During the State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama mentioned the Free Trade Act with the European Union which was supposed to benefit the Union and America. However, because of the spying the NSA had done on the Union, it came to a rather sudden halt. America had stepped out of place with the security. Corien Wortmann-Kool, a member of the European Parliament says “Our concern is that after the tragedy of 9/11 the U.S. security services may have run amok. We need to discuss the code of conduct and see that proper oversight is in place” (Gnoll). Many countries could agree strongly with the statement; it was of great concern to what heights the spying had been taken to. Brazil especially had a huge concern because many of their officials and leaders were being spied on. The Brazilian President denied an invite