The Patriot Act Analysis

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The terroristic attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was a catastrophic event that our government had to react to quickly; it was unclear if there was still a threat in the United States and if more attacks were on their way. It is understandable that the President authorized an act with the intent to protect America and her people. However, the New York Times acted properly for many reasons. The Patriot Act is a violation of several constitutional amendments, specifically pertaining to our civil liberties. Secondly, it a journalist’s job is to cover stories that pertain to the public. When a journalist uncovers such a controversial story such as the National Security Agency (NSA) spying on domestic communication, it is not something…show more content…
American culture is obsessed with their freedom, our independence day being one of our most important holidays. This trend of freedom has been strong since the signing of the declaration of independence, the founders of American worried about the scope of government power, believing that the government would infringe on the liberty they fought so hard to achieve. As mentioned in We the People, history taught the founders to mistrust unrestricted government rule, James Madison believed that “liberty should be equally exposed to danger whether the government has too much or too little power” (Patterson, 44). To ensure that the scope of the government was relatively small, they gave the national government grants of power. Whatever was outside of the grant, the government could not touch. However, as time went on, the more revisions there have been to the constitution, and even times when the government blatantly ignored their limits such as the Patriot…show more content…
There are a few different reasons why there are people who do not think the New York Times acted properly, one belief is that George Bush made the right decision when he allowed the NSA to spy on Americans under the premise that the government could easily eliminate any domestic threat against America. Another reason is that the New York Times released the information illegally, which would be considered treason against the United States. As mentioned before, the journalist’s job is to release controversial information that is sent to them, the publishers did not uncover the information themselves, rather felt it was their duty to report such information. Under FISA, the government was too acting well out of their restraints by surveying Americans without a proper warrant. The Patriot Act should not be taken lightly, as this is not the first time the government has been caught abusing their powers. As previously mentioned, the press has freedom and the government could not have blocked the New York Times for releasing information due to the notion of prior constraints (Patterson, 112). Ultimately, whether terrorists were discovered under the Patriot Act or not, it was an illegal act that ultimately damaged America’s
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