Does everyone remember October 26, 2001? It was the infamous day that liberals screamed afoul. It was the day that President Bush signed H.R. 3162. For those of you that do not know what bill that was, it is the Patriot Act. Just a quick reminder, the bill passed the House 357-66 and passed the Senate 98-1.
One might be wondering why I bring this topic up. Just recently, the Obama administration has proposed legislation to tape the internet. For instance, they could check our emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc. because they are looking out for our security. Or is there another reason they proposed this legislation? I thought that these same people were the ones to speak out against the Patriot Act because it violated privacy. (Check out the source at the bottom of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act)
The Patriot Act seems legitimate at its core. The purpose is “To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools...” (http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html). When this bill was passed, mostly everyone was feeling patriotic after the attacks on our land. Most people wanted those who committed these atrocities to pay and we would do anything and everything to make sure they were held responsible and answer to our wrath. Ensuing September 11, 2001, we went to war against terrorism, we passed the Patriot Act, and we created the Department of Homeland Security. Everything seemed to be running smoothly.
All of a sudden, our post-9/11 sentiment ended. Some people started to hate the war because they thought it was just like Vietnam via the interpretations made by the media. Liberals started to hate Gitmo because they wanted to give terrorists their rights. Also, some people hated the Patriot Act because they wanted to be left alone and not have their private lives under scrutiny and this fear of the government listening into your phone conversations and what books one would take out of the library swept the nation. Most liberal leaders like the ACLU, Feingold and countless others screamed with outrage.
May I pose a question: where are these leaders now that Obama has proposed similar legislation but to look at personal emails, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.? Does this not seem a bit like a double standard? This legislation would not only affect private citizens but it would affect businesses. It could affect our trading policies, our open markets, and countless other parts of our economy too. For instance, how much would this cost our already ailing economy? Two interesting articles are as followed: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100927/ap_on_hi_te/us_internet_wiretaps and http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2026411320100921
Now for the fun part: my personal opinion. I have had no problem with the Patriot Act. I understand that some people feel that it violates their privacy. I totally understand that. Here is one question for those that are anti-Patriot Act: if you do not check out any books that have to deal with making bombs or terrorist activities and if you do not have phone conversations planning to blow something up, what is there to fear the government listening or looking at your life? I have nothing to hide. I’m sure 99% of Americans have nothing to hide, maybe even more. As for this new legislation being proposed, I feel the same way, to an extent. I have questions to whether or not this is looking for people that speak out against the administration (which I highly doubt is the case since that is unconstitutional), or is this to actually look for suspected terrorists? Like I said before, I have nothing to hide; I’m not a terrorist, contrary to popular belief. However, I would like to see those who so vehemently opposed the Patriot Act oppose this legislation too. Double –standards at its finest.
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