Pros And Cons Of Government Action: Detrimental Or Helpful

Government Action: Detrimental or Helpful?
Haylie Halverson The United States of America is known as being the land of the free. For hundreds of years, immigrants have traveled to this country for more opportunities and for a better future for their children. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights guarantee our vast freedoms with civil liberties and civil rights. They protect our freedoms from infringement of the government. However, there are exceptions and rules for each, and sometimes it is appropriate for the government to intervene. That brings forth the question: is government action actually detrimental to our freedom? That is a tricky one, because some people say that it is extremely hurtful to our freedoms, and others say that it
The first is that a person charged of a crime cannot be charged for that same crime more than once. This is known as being protected from double jeopardy. This has its exceptions, however. If an individual is found not guilty or acquitted in state court, they can still be charged on a federal level. In the case of Rodney King in the early 1990s, police officers arrested and savagely beat him. In state courts, the officers were acquitted. The federal government took action and tried and convicted them in federal court for violating Rodney’s civil rights. This government intervention was essential in keeping Rodney King’s rights safe. They only interfered because an American’s rights were violated, which means they protected
The government infringed upon some individuals’ freedoms by detaining suspected terrorists. Some were detained in the United States and some were apprehended outside of the country. Either way, the government interfered with their liberties. It’s understandable that they were concerned about nation security, but taking away people’s freedoms in a desperate attempt to save face is horrendous. Another example of how government action is hurtful to our freedoms is in the freedom of expression. In World War I, people who freely expressed that they supported communism were thrown in jail for their opinion. In the Civil War, Union post offices would not deliver newspapers that were anti-war, but would deliver pro-war ones. The government censors the media so we only read what they want us to read, which is prohibiting the journalists from their freedom of expression. Our freedom to keep things private also gets stripped away by the government. Edward Snowden is a former CIA employee. He exposed how much privacy we truly do not have. He revealed how the NSA is constantly watching and listening to phones calls, among other things. Our freedom is taken away by the government when they survey us all the time. He was the one who was on trial, and not the NSA who has been taking our