"Personal Privacy vs. National Security" Essay deals with the Patriot Act with comparison and coments dealing with George Orwell's "1984."

Essay by smiles4u1515 April 2004

download word file, 2 pages 3.7

Some stranger knows your shoe size, your shirt size, what you're interested in, where you live, and even your social security number. Sounds a bit like something out of Orwell's 1984. Seem a bit far off? Not really. President Bush approved the Patriot Act in October of 2001 that allows individuals to have access to this kind of information. Information made available through our ever improving technology. Technology that has become a part of our daily lives. A part of our lives that we have come to expect to be private. Privacy is a fundamental right of being an American. Our rights are what keep us free, and freedom is what this country stands for. Although the Patriot Act was created with good intentions, there is no proof that the act will even accomplish it's coal in the facilitation of eliminating terrorism. To put it simply, the act is a blatant violation of our rights given to us by the fourth amendment and one step closer to the world in Orwell's 1984.

The strongest argument was written on an old piece of paper that is supposed to mean something. The Constitution of the United States asserts in the fourth amendment, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." (Constitution of the United States). The fourth amendment is essentially giving us the right of privacy. This once simply meant physical properties, such as your home were your personal information could be collected. In a time of mass technology this also includes our privacy on the internet. A privacy that is stolen from us by the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act allows individuals of the government to look through a questionable person's computer...