The Unpatriotic Act

The Bill of Rights is the beacon of American justice and liberty. The Bill of Rights gives every American bragging right over the world, because they have the best constructed constitution of any democratic nation. It is the first to ensure the freedom to exercise any religion. It also protects us, our homes, and our papers from unreasonable search and seizure. This document that structured a great nation, which was passed down to the American public December 15, 1791, unfazed congress when they decided to pass the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was passed on October 26, 2001 just two months shy of the constitutions 210th anniversary.

The passing of the Patriot Act desecrated the grand occasion, by being the most un-American law passed to date. The Patriot Act passed post 9/11 is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The Patriot Act changed many U.

S. laws, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under Title II of the Patriot Act, which was suppose to have expired on December 31, 2005, the government has the authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications, to share such information, they have a roving surveillance authority, seizure of voice-mail messages pursuant to warrants, ability to access records and other items under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and immunity for compliance with FISA wiretaps. The founders who constructed the constitution, which is the foundation of our freedom and our nation, would disagree with everything that this act accomplishes.

The founders believed in the rights of the individual and their right to privacy and property. The Patriot Act is a complete violation of the American individual's privacy. If the government had an interest in any individual they can justify their investigations by claiming they are a possible terrorist.

There is actually past precedent for this argument, and it is the beginning of the FBI. When J. Edgar Hoover was in charge of running the FBI he used his authority to investigate various celebrities. For whatever interest he may have had Hoover utilized the FBI to investigate big names like Lucille O' Ball and Frank Sinatra. The authorization for roving surveillance allows the government to randomly check the electronic, wire, and oral communications of any American citizen for no reason when ever they want. One could consider that it is like housing the militia without giving them food.

You have to constantly be weary that your aggressions towards the current administration at the time don't come out, or else they can brand you as a terrorist for expressing your frustrations. The Patriot Act is a demonstration of how far American politicians have strayed from the true American way. The founders would be repulsed by this invasion into the private lives of free American citizens.

Dexter Bedd, Legal Website