Government Surveillance
English 101 8:20
Final SA 3
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. “(Benjamin Franklin)
Government Surveillance
According to Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. (Declaration 83)
Surveillance is presenting numerous challenges to our right to privacy. The National Security Agency or NSA is amassing private information about Americans. (Heuvel par. 3) Emails, phone calls and other forms of communication are being monitored. Unless we the American voters demand of our elected officials that they curtail the unwarranted surveillance by our government on American citizens, the current state of affairs is nothing but a prelude to our Government usurping our liberty of privacy we are likely to descend into a total surveillance state.
The first issue is that the government has been observing both Americans and foreigners for decades, without our knowledge or regulation of anyone. The NSA was established in 1952; its existence was not admitted to the American public until 20 years later, and still, its configuration and activity are largely unknown, even to members of congress and government. It is the biggest surveillance agency in the world. (MacAskill, Borger and Greenwald par. 8) In the 1970s, extreme far-reaching disclosures about the NSA led to senate hearings, which revealed stunning transgressions, with assassination plots, illegal mail opening, massive military spying. (Heuvel par. 10) In 1975, Democratic US Senator and former NSA employee Frank Church alerted us that the NSA's extending reach could be turned inwards on the American people.
"I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge.” He said, “I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this
Final SA 3
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. “(Benjamin Franklin)
Government Surveillance
According to Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. (Declaration 83)
Surveillance is presenting numerous challenges to our right to privacy. The National Security Agency or NSA is amassing private information about Americans. (Heuvel par. 3) Emails, phone calls and other forms of communication are being monitored. Unless we the American voters demand of our elected officials that they curtail the unwarranted surveillance by our government on American citizens, the current state of affairs is nothing but a prelude to our Government usurping our liberty of privacy we are likely to descend into a total surveillance state.
The first issue is that the government has been observing both Americans and foreigners for decades, without our knowledge or regulation of anyone. The NSA was established in 1952; its existence was not admitted to the American public until 20 years later, and still, its configuration and activity are largely unknown, even to members of congress and government. It is the biggest surveillance agency in the world. (MacAskill, Borger and Greenwald par. 8) In the 1970s, extreme far-reaching disclosures about the NSA led to senate hearings, which revealed stunning transgressions, with assassination plots, illegal mail opening, massive military spying. (Heuvel par. 10) In 1975, Democratic US Senator and former NSA employee Frank Church alerted us that the NSA's extending reach could be turned inwards on the American people.
"I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge.” He said, “I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this