The Patriot Act as we all know is a way for the United States Government to get a few steps in our lives and future. I believe that the government has too much power over the American Citizens. Letting them to come in and out of our lives without notice shouldn’t be aloud. I feel as though if we are free people, why are we being held down by this law? I understand the need to be on high alert because of 9/11, and all of the following treats that America has gotten since then. I don’t understand how such law got passed so quickly through while usually it takes months to a couple of years. This makes me suspicious.

            The Patriot Act has its pros and cons just everything in this world does. In this case the cons out way the pros in my opinion. The thought of someone wiring into my phone, computer, or TV is a little freaky to me. I don’t think the government needs to see who I talk to wirelessly, where I’m at 24/7, and who are my friends. The citizens don’t the government personal lives so why should they know ours. If there should ever be a time for the government to bug is when the have protected proof. Which means a physical or item of evidence. I also think they should confirm with the person that there “Stalking” so that the person can either tell yes or no that their committing a crime. If the person isn’t guilty they wouldn’t lie or try to hide from it. If they took the time out to be nice then maybe people wouldn’t lie, run, or hide from them.

            In my opinion I think the Patriot Act shouldn’t exist. There are so many other laws that they can create that can protect the privacy and lives of America. It’s like there butting a war with their own Citizens. I believe if they did more research on the foreigners that come over to the states they wouldn’t have to be concerned in who is coming over to attack America. I do want to be protected from harm, but not in this kind of way. Make a law where everyone is protected and trusted with their homes, jobs, lives, education, and money. Make a law where if someone is being considered of committing a crime has some evidence. Don’t just take a random person from the street accuse them and then lock them up for years. It’s not fair to the American people. It’s cheating up out of our freedom that we are suppose to have. Our rights. 

The patriot act is a word that stirs conflict in the world of politics. It’s a controversial touchy subject that has two stories the good and the bad. Those who fight to keep it, as well as those to fight to oppose it. Even though each person has their own opinions on why and why not there is truth behind each claim against and for it. I believe that if both sides work together to create something that worth talking about and fighting for then no one will have a problem. The Patriot Act which was created with the idea of protecting america from terrorism through surveillance means. It was strongly fought against because people felt as though they would lose all control over their own privacy. As well as the fact that the government would have too much control. 

As technology advances so does the ability to hide dangerous weapons that can hold the power to harm more than ever before. Which is something that the government will instinctively revolt back to create even better means for safety. Though surveillance may seem to be something that invades someones privacy it is also a means to protect the people who need privacy. I see the patriot act a a double edged sword, because is in the wrong hand this amazing surveillance power can be used for evil as much as it is used for good. Though i am not saying that Having this doesn't inflict strain on the basic necessities of everyday privacy but if the privacy is kept with in newly recreated laws and restrictions then people won't have to feel like everything in their life is at steak.

Even though we may want to believe in the fact that the government is only using their new power to investigate terrorism. We know that some where in our minds is that they are using there power for the cases that that have nothing to do with terrorism. There are even facts about "The Widespread serious abuse" of the power. As stated in the passage show that even thought there are some precautions in place it is still not enough. To stop things that could have easily be stopped.

The Patriot act despite it's criticism it is a useful weapon in the war on terrorism. Since it allows the F.B.I to investigate Criminals that have ties to terrorism easier than ever. Safeguards to halt misuse have been newly forced in to effect. Though not strongly backed it is a start to protecting america from terrorism. Though it may not me perfect as of yet there are always faults and failures until the final product is finished.

In today’s world the patriot act is still needed to protect us from harm. It has been crucial in fighting the war of crime and terrorism. This law gives us more knowledge on terrorism throughout the world that we will need to prevent future attacks from happening. The Patriot act makes it difficult for terrorist to get ahead of the law.

The law was signed shortly after the September 11th attacks, with little appeal. While this law is in effect we have more intelligence on crime and illegal things that could be potentially harmful.  One of the main duties of this law is to improve the security in the United States of America. The Patriot act prevents international money laundering and the illegal use of the United States financial system. Without this act we would be more vulnerable to threats from around the world.

The main keys of this law is  improving surveillance which is used by investigators to track suspected terrorists also it allow the federal government to attain business records, business could be prosecuted without warrants if they are suspected of fraud. Another Main key is that the united states government can track non-us citizens who are not connected to a terrorism group

The patriot act is benefiting us years later.  A real life example of this working is the death of Osama Bin Laden, through the intelligence that we gathered over a large period of time , helped us find the leader of al-Qaeda , and kill him . In addition,  we are still working on the ways we can gather information throughout the world.

With the passage of the Patriot act, America is safe and secure. The act prevented many attacks from happening, such as the Buffalo Six which was a group who were convicted of providing money and material support to al-Qaeda.   This is one of the many ways that this law has helped us.  Without this law I think that our country would be at more risk for future attacks , and we would basically take a step in the wrong direction , because our country has come a long way in improving the way we live and operate things since 9.11 .

Now to the matter of privacy. The Government now has access to roving wire tapes, which they can follow a person if they switch companies. Before they would have to get another warrant, for the different company. To the average american it means nothing to you because you first must be behaving suspiciously. Not too much to worry about. The Government now has access to library records. This, I feel, is does not help the government at all and so vague. Just because someone reads a book about Osama Bin Ladin does not make them a terrorist, or researching explosives because you have an interest in become a bomb technician. It is highly speculative and doesn't, to me, provide any real benefit. Plus, if there is freedom of the press, what's the point if what you read can mark you on there list. Some where on that law says an officer can seize any "tangible" thing that can be used, without a warrant. This is too much power, an invasion of privacy and a perfect setup opportunity. 

Finally, the NSL's (Nation Security Letters: a demand for information, not needing a judge) gives the government too much power. There is no checks and balances here, which makes it a bit of a wild card. Other than the things listed above it is a fitting update to America's security.

            The Patriot Act is probably one of the most complicated laws passed in American history; it was a necessity. America was in danger- with events leading up to attacks- something needed to be done. Reactions of the government were straight to the point, under immense pressure, they needed to ensure the people’s safety which lead to the law being passed so quickly. Some may say that we give the government too much power, but I believe it suffices our safety- better safe than sorry.

            On September 11, 2001 two planes crashed into the Twin Towers, leading the citizens of America into chaos. There was never an Act allowing the government to tap into services of anyone to stop any danger. Once 9/11 happened the vision of safety for America changed dramatically for the better. Anti-terrorism safety precautions are necessary even today, with all the new technologies out in the world we may even need to “fine-tune” the act.

            The government’s ability to tap into anyone’s services may be upsetting to some people, but we do need to consider that citizens of this very country can be high-risk criminals. There are countless benefits of the Patriot Act applying to anti-terrorism conditions and other organized crimes within the country, for example, gang violence.

            Overall, the Patriot Act should remain a law in the United States of America to ensure the safety of citizens. The government must have all the power when it comes to keeping their citizens in safe, if not, then all chaos would break loose and there would be no support for the country.

Do we still need the Patriot Act? How about No? How about Yes? Does it really matter? Seriously have US citizens really noticed the patriot act over the last 11 years. I know I really haven’t noticed it in my life, and apparently it’s been there for the last 11 years. That’s the majority of my life. It’s not going to hurt us by having it, and its not going to hurt us by not having it. If terrorist want to attack the USA the Patriot act won’t stop them. I think the Patriot Act is being used so the country can get complete control of its citizens. I think that’s good for the country and the citizens.

Lets just say a group of citizens are on a 4-way call planning to attack the white house or a city hall. With the Patriot Act the government may be able to pick up on that call and nip it in a bud as soon as possible. Without the Patriot Act the government would be clueless, and one of those places would go down. Or would it? Didn’t the government know what we were doing at all times before the Patriot Act? I think so. The Patriot Act just may be in order so nobody complains about his or her rights because the patriot act is a law. There is really nothing we can do about it.

If that is not the reason why we have the Patriot Act then I think it still needs to stay in place. Because without the Patriot Act Pearl Harbor was Bombed & the Twin Towers were attacked. Since the Patriot Act has been put in place I can’t recall any terrorist attacks on the country, but I can recall some attacks to the country’s citizens. I’ll just name two of those attacks; “The V-Tech Massacre” & “The Dark Knight Massacre”. Could the Patriot Act have prevented these citizen attacks?  I’m not sure, but if it could have I’m pretty sure they would have.

Is there still a need for the patriot act? My answer is I don’t care. It stops the big things from happening but the little things still happen, so I don’t think it really matters. "That's the bottom line cuz Stone Cold said so."

After reading the editorials I agree that we do not need the PATRIOT Act anymore. The PATRIOT Act has been in the spotlight of many International debates. The PATRIOT Act was something to make the American people feel safer, more secure in times of need. Now, The PATRIOT Act is just something there that is completely unnecessary in most senses. 

In the right, liberal place we are in now, most people are already against the PATRIOT Act because many believe it is a violation of privacy. I, too believe that, but I also feel as though we never needed the PATRIOT Act in the first place. In class, we discussed things like the NSA, CIA, and FBI. Those are agencies that are here to gather intelligence and try to prevent things from happening like 9/11. Can we seriously say that there was no surveillance before 9/11 or the PATRIOT Act? The United States already measures in place that could of stopped 9/11, strong measures but they didn't work, not because of the lack of surveillance but by the lack of execution in our part. 

Many liberates have been taken away since the PATRIOT Act has been in play. Once could even argue that the PATRIOT Act hurts democratic ideals in a sense. Democratic ideals are such things as: self-entrepreneur, self-liberties and most importantly, patriotism. You might be wondering, why patriotism, isn't the PATRIOT Act supposed to be something that makes you want to be an American? Well, for must it us, but for others who don't have blond hair, blue eyes it could be something that deteriorates someone's moral in this Country. After 9/11, muslims became the face of terrorism. Many muslims feared for their lives. Sikhs had been targeted most because of their appearance. 9/11 and the Patriot Act directly effected 2 religions. Thus, hurting their patriotism towards this country. 

As the PATRIOT Act hurts democratic ideals, they can also strengthen them. Egalitarianism is something that has benefited from this. After the PATRIOT Act, many people had thought their privacy and rights were not being respected, they began adopting a moral of negativity against the United States and the Bush administration.  Making the Bush administration considered one of the failures among the other administrations in the past. John Locke had wrote this as "natural" rights, well, if someone's privacy is being threatened, they think their natural rights are being threatened as well. This in a direct contradiction to what many in the history of this Country wanted.

As you read many arguments about the PATRIOT Act, one can only adopt their view on it. In times of social liberalism, progressivism, and libertarianism, one could even argue that the PATRIOT Act is something even a communists nation could adopt. Let's hope our liberties will be reinstated if this bill ever falls apart.

By, Mohamed Marzouk

There is no room for debate, at least according to the way in which this bill was passed. The patriot act was introduced for one over arching reason, terrorism. Even though it seems like terrorism has gone away and no need for the law and therefore should be abolished, right? No, wrong! It is more vital than ever to have this law in place, to show we are a strong country but also a smart one. If something happened once its bound to happen again if nothing is changed, If they got rid of this law it would be like wiping the slate clean allowing terrorism which could bring us mere moments away from a catastrophe like 9/11.  Why would one need to abolish this law and start a new? So people don’t get scanned at airports? There are two reasons people would decide against this law, one being convenience purposes because people rather be lazy then be safe or people don’t feel safe with their information/privacy in the governments hands. This law, the U.S.A.  P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act allows the government access to information they could use to help them capture terrorist. On a personal level I wouldn’t mind my privacy being “violated” if it is to help catch terrorist. Listening in on my phone calls, tracking web traffic? All they would find is I’m a nerd, laugh, and then move on. What are you teenagers hiding, your conversations with your special someone? The government doesn’t care.

Now I feel like a stronger rebuttal to this topic is the government has too much power, and I could see this being a problem in countries that are not the US. The Patriot Act simply asks if they could use information that they need access to help capture terrorist.

Imagine it like this… We go to a school in the School District of Philadelphia, in the SDP they filter websites and don’t allow access to certain websites, that they decide are beneficial or not. There have been times where you needed to find information or watch a video to complete a task and it was blocked. Well imagine the government trying to capture terrorists and they had a filter like this, figuratively. Imagine if they had these exact same filters. It holds back the process and delays the capture of terrorists, sometimes delaying them too much… 

I feel as though we should keep the Patriot Act because it ensures the safety of everyone. As shown in this quote. “As we lose some of our security, it is natural and proper for government to increase surveillance and other security measures..” This quote is valid because the less security we have the more the government will need to step in and take control. As many people don’t know their are restrictions and strict safeguards to the Patriot Act such as you must show proof as to why you suspect someone is a terrorist and you also must get a judge’s permission before tapping into anyones phone.  The F.B.I is flawed as well as everything else, nothing is perfect. Social media and technology has become so advanced that nothing is truly private. You don’t need the Patriot Act to have your privacy violated when you have social networks. The Patriot Act isn’t made to be in everyone’s personal life, instead it is to ensure that everyone is protected from terrorist and other threats to life. In conclusion, keeping the Patriot Act would be very beneficial and productive in the long run.