Freedom of Speech in 1776, the United

Freedom of Speech

In 1776, the United States Constitution was signed to protect the freedoms of every American and to solidify the rights that so many were currently fighting for. It was the government that implemented ways for everyone to have equal rights to express what ever they deemed appropriate without the fear of there being repercussions for their actions. That is no longer the case. The government now, instead of protecting those rules set so long ago by America's founding fathers, now have made even more rules to violate any sort of privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom to do whatever it is that a person feels like doing. What is more unbelievable is that although the government is restricting freedom of speech, they are doing so by following the Constitution itself.

After the attacks on United States soil in September of 2001, nothing has been more impactful on American's lives than the Patriot Act. In order to protect the American people, and those same rights that the Patriot Act violates, the Patriot Act allows (ACLU, 2010). The government now has complete control over any rights that the constitution grants people residing in the United States. All these violations are protected by the word "terrorism." According to Webster Dictionary, terrorism in itself is defined as "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorism). With the fear of another terrorist attack, American citizens have allowed this Patriot Act to continue to be in existence even though it violates their own rights as an individual residing in the United States. Those rights to even have some sort of say about the passing of this Act was also in complete violation, as people were not even consulted when the government thought of the Patriot Act (Chang, 2001). It was implemented in ways that in turn made the violation of freedom of speech and expression that much more prevalent.

Legally if terrorism is suspected, an individual or organization loses any sort of rights that were once protected by the constitution (BORDC, 2009). No matter how wrong the allegations could be, and no matter how bizarre they might turn out, if a person or group is believed to be something that is against the government, all rights of freedom and privacy are violated, and they are subject to search without permission and incarceration for the suspicion of defiance against the government (BORDC, 2009). Individuals now have to be careful when expressing any doubts against the government or questioning any sort of action that the government takes because it could be viewed as anti-American, and therefore, suspicion enough for the Patriot Act to come into effect since it could be seen as a mark of terrorism. Acting a certain way, saying certain things, reading or writing certain literatures, all perfectly rightful ways of expressing ones freedom of thought and speech, can now be limited and have action taken against, because it is in direct violation of the Patriot Act (Chang, 2001).

My thoughts about such restrictions placed upon individuals and the government's legal and constitutional right to do so makes me have mixed feelings about the justice system. On one hand, as long as the people are being protected in the end, it shouldn't matter what needs to be done to assure that everyone is being looked after, and that everyone's safety is the government's main objective and concern. In order for everyone's best interest to be met, some sacrifices should be made in order to feel safe going to school, going to work, and even going to visit family or friends, but sometimes, things are just taken too far. There is no excuse for a person's rights to be violated just because of a strong "hunch" that there might be something suspicious going on. The rights that were fought for so many years ago, are now being violated because of something that could be deemed terrorism, anything that could be deemed as terrorism. But in reality, where can the line be drawn?

No longer are people really allowed to do what they want, given that they are not going to hurt anyone. The Patriot Act blurs the line between absolute freedom of speech and persecution by the government. A person could no longer go to the library and research a topic without the fear of being called a terrorist and to be treated like one just because a certain topic was of interest. Phone calls that have nothing to do with a terrorist act, or anything against the United States government, could now be wire tapped and listened to without one being aware that it is happening or has ever happened. I do understand the precautions that this is theoretically taking, but in the end, it is a direct violation of what is a legal entitlement to any citizen of the United States of America.