The Pros And Cons Of Domestic Surveillance

Domestic Surveillance is a withering matter which not many people care about because they think that it does not affect them. However, it is common in the daily lives of American citizens. But the question remains, how much does the U.S. government know about your personal privacy? Face it, it is a fact the United States peers on our personal life more than what you may think, and it does, in fact, appertain every single citizen of our nation. It is hidden, bathed in laws but linked to another.
Cell phones have changed the ways of communication so much that the world can now have internet, face to face chatting, and some 3D technology has already successfully made holograms. However, it also can pertain to invasion of privacy in some sorts.
The NSA has passed several addendums to laws that explain how wiretapping and listening in on your calls is permissible without a warrant. President Bush stated “The law is only acceptable in the times in which our nation is threatened by acts of war or terrorism, including the war on terror, and homeland security interference." (George W. Bush) The Bush administration set out these laws even before 9/11 to capture these so called “domestic terrorists” and now, with Osama Bin Laden slain; the law was put in place yet again. What this means is that the government can track where citizens are at all times, record your email, phone calls, text messages, internet activity anything that you do on your phone. It is scary to think that, but, they inform the public that it is probable cause only, which is a whopping lie in times of war. It clearly states that in times of war everyone is under scrutiny and anyone can be considered a terrorist and jailed for it. However, they show their citizens they keep them safe by introducing new bills and laws. This is similar to the thought police in 1984 how they listened and read all of your thoughts and feelings. (Ruvr.ru) The next snide remark on my list is the United States Patriot Act. Sounds innocuous enough, right? Not exactly, it defends citizens from domestic terrorists, not Mr. Bin Laden down the street, but Steven Hudgins, whom genuinely does not have to be a true terrorist to be jailed for it. The idea of the “domestic terrorist” is an immense advantage for the government as they can theoretically jail anyone for virtually any action whatsoever. Some suspicions of terrorism are people who take notes regularly, people who sketch buildings, use binoculars, smell rancid or of a strong odor, living alone, have excessive amounts of boxes, own a van, or even people who ask for directions. These are things that some people do in their daily lives, should they be noted as terrorists? Not exactly, they are considered “domestic terrorists”, which are dealt with differently. Domestic terrorists can be surveyed, spied on, wiretapped, or dragged into a murky black van on the corner of the road for no reason at all besides he is waiting for a ride. This may be a problem for us citizens, but apparently it is a tremendous plus for the United States based on how it has been around since the 70’s. Bush commented on one resident’s arrest for this, saying “the woman involved was involved in terrorist activities during the arrest we had no intention of spying on her, nor did we, it was an anonymous call to the police.” The woman involved, Caelea Sylvian was enjoying a walk on the beach at the time, obviously a perfect place for terrorists. (NationalTerrorAlert.com) (Foodnotbombs.net)
Another big bill that “prevents terrorist activities” is the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act).
The Patriot Act and this cannot be put into effect unless we are in a time of war, and place of war. The NDAA leaves the United States as a “space of varying terroristic activity” and a “field of war on terror” therefore, the NDAA and Patriot act are effective laws. But what does the NDAA achieve to the idea of Domestic Surveillance? Well, since the United States is now a “area of conflict” it puts us in jeopardy of becoming domestic terrorists for particularly contentious reasons as these. But, are we domestic terrorists? Some of us, maybe, but is it appropriate to punish us all as a whole? There is no reason that should be put into action the way it has been. The NDAA is a blatant act of piracy invasion, even police brutality in some sorts. One thing is that it is all happening so quickly it is scary, is it not? (PcQuanda.com)
(NyTimes.com)
The most disturbing fact that is being done by the United States at the moment is the establishment of confinement camps. It is in the NDAA that it is required to have at least 2 to 3 confinement camps (concentration camps) in each state based on population density in the area. What are these camps used for? We have not seen them in action just yet, but the United States government says they are for the detaining of terrorists. Why would there be 2 camps in each state for less than 1% of the population? Each camp can organize and hamper up to 750,000 people, and in the CIA list of suspected terrorists, only 325,000 so called “terrorists” live among us in the U.S. The camps can accommodate up to 75 million people at a time in a comfortable way, exceeding up to 150 million when stuffed. Why are all these laws coming into place just as they are building labour camps around the country? (Studymode.com) (Govtrack.us)
The laws that protect public privacy are pretty straightforward.
They protect against unusual search and seizure, your information, and online activity. Try thinking that again, there are more laws that take your privacy away rather than give you your personal privacy. On February 24th, 2013, an online privacy law named “Six Strikes” entered the internet. The law protects against online privacy supposedly, but also regulates what you can look at online. If they catch us pirating, they will immediately send out information to the local authorities. However, in the intricate print it states that if you are doing any suspicious activity on the internet involving the examination of cults, communism, or terrorists, your information will be sent to the police, and you noted as a, get ready for this, domestic terrorist. This is one of many online privacy addendums, did you know that Facebook sells your personal information to marketing companies? Also with Craigslist, one can see exactly where you live based on from where you post? The United States government possibly knows more about you than your own close relatives. Is it even conceivable that they do? Should they be allowed to track you? The former CIA Director, Michael Hayden stated “We do, in fact, track your online activity but only in serious situations, for your own safety.” (Michael Hayden) This new “Six Strikes” law tracks your activity 24/7, so they have lied to us already.
(FoodNotBombs.net)
Privacy in the United States is a joke; it does not exist. This takes us back to the first issue, “How much does the U.S. government know about your own privacy?” The government does know quite a bit about you and whom you are. They track you more than you might think. It is an alarming fact, but of course, it is truth in America. Try thinking of the government as a stone, and its citizens as a silver string of wire. The government is attempting to break us with their strength and weight, but no matter how hard they try, we become stronger in numbers. If we all band together and intertwine our so called “silver wires”, the weight of the stone would be nothing against our durability. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,723)