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Paper #3

Safety First:  Loss of Civil Liberties for National Security

	JFK once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.  However, after events such as September 11th, it seems as though we may have some new things to fear.  We are now afraid of more attacks of its kind, and it is because of this fear that we are willing to give up some of the liberties that have made this country what it is.  After 9/11, the government has come to be able to remove liberties once granted to US citizens and invade privacy if in any way it might assist in a terror investigation. 
	Privacy has long since been an important part of American culture; people have come to expect it.  This may be one of the most important civil liberties that Americans have.  But privacy is not the only liberty being slowly removed, but also our right to Freedom of Speech.  Laws are being passed that restrict things we once considered to be our own right under the first amendment.  Another liberty thought of by people in the US is basic equality.  However, many government programs consider race, gender, age, etc.  One such example of this is affirmative action, which gives points towards college admissions based on race.  Offering a program or aid based on the preference of such born traits as race, gender, or age does not demonstrate a sense of equality.
	Liberties such as these have been slowly drifting away, but since September 11th, they have begun to fly away.  With the fear of terrorism growing, safety has become the number one priority.  Stopping terrorism has become more important then privacy, freedom of speech, or equality.  After 9/11, President Bush enacted the Patriot Act, giving the government almost unconstitutional powers to spy on the American public.  This act makes it easier for the government to place wire taps on person’s phones, and even allows for investigation of citizens involved in criminal matters as long as it is for intelligence purposes.  The government now has even greater surveillance of the internet, attempting to catch would-be terrorist before they can strike.  Almost anything you search for or visit on the internet, the government has access to records of.  While their idea to stop an attack before it could happen is great, the question that should be asked is, “are the odds of catching a would-be terrorist worth giving up our privacy?”  
	The other big liberty hurt by 9/11 has been the idea of equality.  Since 9/11 discrimination, especially based on race and ethnicity is becoming worse.  People of Arab and Muslim heritage are being generally frowned upon because they share the heritage or those involved in the events that took place on September 11th.  This is racial profiling, and it strongly goes against the idea of equality.  This is not the first time something like this has happened; during after the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were feared as being spies.  Since then, almost everyone knows this was wrong, but we are beginning to do it again.  Equality is important in America, and if it was wrong for us to discriminate Japanese-Americans then, isn’t it wrong now?
	America offers many liberties to its citizens.  Some of these are changed or altered during the course of history; some are even lost over time.  Even before the tragic events of September 11th, some of these liberties seemed to be gradually disappearing.  It was only after 9/11 that they started to disappear more quickly, and the government was able to justify then on the basis of national security.  We are losing our privacy, giving up our right of free speech, and giving up on the idea of equality.  And if the government is willing to take away these liberties, what will they be willing to take away next?