Rhetorical Analysis On Give Up Our Freedoms

Give Up Our Freedoms? Why? In 1961, the United States of America set forth in placing a new president who wished to change the tide of global, as well as domestic, unrest by asking for peace. President John F. Kennedy stated in his inaugural address, “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish…all form of human life.” (Kennedy 541) Since that day an echoed sentiment is given by every American President up to today. Although, anyone who was born of American heritage before September 11, 2001, remembers a dark day that makes one stop and think, "What is the government going to do to make sure that I am safe from these threats?" The answer is not as black and white as one might believe. To preserve
Langston Hughes, a well-known African American poet and activist who exposed racism and prejudice through his poetry, eloquently states in his poem “Democracy”, that it will not come through “compromise and fear.” (Hughes 4) Unfortunately today, we have heard rhetoric from our elected officials that do nothing but place fear in the hearts and minds of the populace to gain support towards reducing our personal freedoms. Hughes muses, “I tire so of hearing people say, / Let things take their course. / Tomorrow is another day.” (Hughes 10-12) If the majority stay silent to the pitfalls of government, we will no longer live in a democracy, but a totalitarianistic state. We must, with the same fervor of the Civil Rights Movement of not too long ago, fight for our God-given rights that were protected by our Fore
In the 2003 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism drafted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, it is stated that one of the objectives the U.S. has in dealing with terrorist threats is to “Attain domain awareness.” (Strategy 25) This document identifies one of the keys to defending our nation is to have “effective knowledge of all activities, events, and trends within any specified domain…that could threaten the safety, security, or environment of the United States and its populace.” (Strategy 25) The word “all” is deliberate and must be taken seriously. This document is bringing to the forefront the policy of potential spying on its’ own citizens. How else could the government know in advance that a threat is imminent? It states, “The President has instructed the leaders of the FBI, Central Intelligence, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to…analyze all threat information in a single location. The center is being created because our government must have the very best information possible…” (Strategy 26) Is this intrusion into the private lives of citizens necessary? An argument can be made that the answer is “yes”. The reasoning is due to the very nature of the threats. It is happening in the recesses of society out of public view. Otherwise, the attacks could not and would not be as successful in