While it is wise to keep an eye on chatter and look for key words, phrases and patterns, there is indeed rules of evidence and the needs for warrants in many cases and that should be respected. The United States should certainly keep an eye on international communications as they have a right and duty to do so but citizens who are behaving themselves should be left alone and not monitored. In addition, and especially in light of events like 9/11, people can get profiled and labeled as suspects with no rhyme or reason. Indeed, most Muslim terrorists are male Arabs from 18 to 34 but there are plenty of young Arab males who love the United States and/or are doing nothing illegal. Conclusion

As with most arguments, the argument of privacy protection and national security can and should fall somewhere reasonably in between protecting privacy and protecting the public. Crying racism when there is legitimately bad activity going on is demagoguery but...

In short, people that are doing ill or are planning to do ill should be scrutinized but those that are abiding by the law should be left alone and allowed to live in peace. They should get the privacy they deserve until proven otherwise.
References

Jurist. (2007, January 13). JURIST - Paper Chase: Bush signs legislation to protect phone records, ban pretexting. JURIST - Paper Chase: Bush signs legislation to protect phone records, ban pretexting. Retrieved March 28, 2014, from http://jurist.org/paperchase/2007/01/bush-signs-legislation-to-protect.php

PrivacyRights.org. (2014, March 28). Privacy Rights Clearinghouse | Empowering

Consumers. Protecting Privacy.. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse | Empowering

Consumers. Protecting Privacy.. Retrieved March 28, 2014, from https://www.privacyrights.org/