Individual Rights vs. Public Order
AJS 101
USA PATRIOT ACT
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was created and put into affect after the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. The law was intended to give United States Law Enforcement the ability to prevent future acts of terrorism on United States soil. These abilities allowed law enforcement retrieve private information on current United States citizens and foreign United States visitors without their knowledge and without a probable cause. After the event of September, 11th, the Act seemed probable for it’s main concern was simply to be used for the benefit of the citizens and the United States well-being. Many citizens of the United States did not agree to this Act. They felt vulnerable to it in more ways than one. It first off, immediately violated the Fourth Amendment. The Amendment was made to protect the right of privacy to all American citizens. Not allowing law enforcement the right to automatically involve themselves with a citizens lives and retrieve information or property without consent or a probably cause. With the Act being put in place, it gave authorities the right to look past that. The problem the citizens had with this, is that not only did their rights seem to get quickly revoked, but were scared that the Act could give law enforcement to much power. That it once they started to search for information pertaining to terrorism, that it would escalate into something more in depth and that they could be accused of something else and arrested for it, even though it was not the intended reason. Once a citizen’s rights are revoked for one reason, its leaves them questioning whether or not it is going to happen again. That when tragedies occur out of their hands, are more rights going to be striped away one by one? Will they slowly be getting punished by the government for things they cannot control? As this happens, it leaves the citizens wondering if they truly have rights to begin with and are they able to stand and fight for
USA PATRIOT ACT
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was created and put into affect after the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. The law was intended to give United States Law Enforcement the ability to prevent future acts of terrorism on United States soil. These abilities allowed law enforcement retrieve private information on current United States citizens and foreign United States visitors without their knowledge and without a probable cause. After the event of September, 11th, the Act seemed probable for it’s main concern was simply to be used for the benefit of the citizens and the United States well-being. Many citizens of the United States did not agree to this Act. They felt vulnerable to it in more ways than one. It first off, immediately violated the Fourth Amendment. The Amendment was made to protect the right of privacy to all American citizens. Not allowing law enforcement the right to automatically involve themselves with a citizens lives and retrieve information or property without consent or a probably cause. With the Act being put in place, it gave authorities the right to look past that. The problem the citizens had with this, is that not only did their rights seem to get quickly revoked, but were scared that the Act could give law enforcement to much power. That it once they started to search for information pertaining to terrorism, that it would escalate into something more in depth and that they could be accused of something else and arrested for it, even though it was not the intended reason. Once a citizen’s rights are revoked for one reason, its leaves them questioning whether or not it is going to happen again. That when tragedies occur out of their hands, are more rights going to be striped away one by one? Will they slowly be getting punished by the government for things they cannot control? As this happens, it leaves the citizens wondering if they truly have rights to begin with and are they able to stand and fight for