National Security v. Civil Liberties (Raby)

The USA Patriot Act

The USA Patriot Act

by Jennifer Spino -
Number of replies: 8

1. I agree a with the statement. The reason that I agree is because when the government is searching through names and backgrounds, they are not going to be looking for Jenny Spino from Livonia Michigan, they are going to be looking for people who they think are linked to terrorists, and if they happen to want to check my background, let them. 'You have nothing to fear, if you have nothing to hide.' I have nothing to hide, so therefore I do not fear them looking into my name.

2. In the Patriot Act it is stated that they are doing this to detect and prevent terrorism. The whole point of the Patriot Act is to make sure that no one in America is helping them to get inside the system. It was stated in Spying on the home front, they say that they are looking for names from a set list of terrorists and anyone who is working with them or is being suspected to work with them. If you are just a normal citizen they don't care about you, your name, or what you are doing.

In reply to Jennifer Spino

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Cortney Brooks -

I agree with you, you shouldn't be worried about the government looking at harmless data unless you've got something to hide. They aren't running an entire background check on your life, they're just looking to see if there are any connections between US citizens and Al Queda.

In reply to Jennifer Spino

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Catherine Fowler -

I do agree with part of what you are saying, and you make a very good point. However, there should not have been as strict monitoring from video cameras and phone conversations. I know many citizens were troubled and disturbed to have someone keep a close watch. Everyone was affected by this and that's why it's a big deal. I know i don't feel comfortable when someone stares at me or gets in my personal space and that's kinda what happened to the security.

In reply to Catherine Fowler

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Jennifer Spino -
Yes, but when they listen in on phone calls, they have said there are certain words that will trigger them listening in, not just two girls gossiping on the phone for hours on end.
In reply to Jennifer Spino

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Christina Eiben -
i agree with you, because they are only trying to protect us and if your not doing anything wrong they wont bother to watch and collect data on everything you do
In reply to Jennifer Spino

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Jodi Ankiel -
I like your opinon even though I disagree on this act, but if the Government starts looking into people just for terrorism reasons now, they might think it's okay to do it for other reasons aswell and it could get out of hand.
In reply to Jodi Ankiel

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Jennifer Spino -
I do see your point of how they may try to make it work for other things in the future, but I think that if it ever got to that point then the people would fight it and protect their information if it was something that wasn't really going to harm us.
In reply to Jennifer Spino

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Leah Jaber -

I agree with you Jenny, I think that if the people have nothing to hide, they shouldn't be worried. Being worried, and making a huge deal out of it, makes them look suspicious.

In reply to Leah Jaber

Re: The USA Patriot Act

by Jennifer Spino -
I agree, I would think that if the government saw you looking into them, then they would just look into you further.