The U.S. Patriotic Act and George Orwell's 1984
You’ll Never Be Alone Just by saying there are no rules, people are free to express what they feel, and everyone has freedom of speech doesn’t make it true. The Patriot Act and 1984 by George Orwell prove that these statements are completely false. People of a higher power may tell the population that new rules are for “security” and “nothing will harm them,” but all of these assurances are lies. Sure, they make everyone “feel” better about what is going on, but citizens should hear the truth and have a voice in decisions that involve them, as the law clearly states (“U.S. Constitution vs. The Patriot Act”). Both the Patriot Act and 1984 use surveillance for the wrong reasons; stealing the population’s freedom and security. After the tragedy of 9/11, millions of Americans felt vulnerable and traumatized. People wanted greater safety measures and needed to know they were secure. This was the government’s chance to gain more power, and they created legislation known as the PATRIOT Act. The main purposes of this law are to prevent and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world and to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools (“Bill Summary & Status”). After people heard about this new law, many were all for it until they heard what this act truly allows the government to do. The PATRIOT Act permits the violation of lives, which denies citizens their freedom. This new law lets the government search anyone’s home, tap into people’s phone calls, and observe what the population is searching on the internet all without a search warrant. (“Bill Summary & Status”) The Patriot Act may be portrayed as a new mode of security, but really, in the end, the government is just gaining more and more power each and every day. This Act really matches up to Orwell’s novel, 1984. In the book, the population is governed by Big Brother and the Party. Everyone’s individualism is ripped away; no one can ever be alone, and someone is always watching