Which is more important, Preserving our freedom and Privacy tradition or spying on terrorists?

Question

Is it true that if you have done nothing wrong, you should not be bothered by big brother listening in to your conversations or reading your mail or emails?

Answer 1

I've done nothing wrong, but I have a lot to fear from the government spying on me. Because once it starts, it becomes that much harder to stop. And if it doesn't stop, it grows. A freedom, once given away, becomes very hard to regain. And once one is gone, it becomes easier to take away the next. Don't be so quick to surrender what generations of brave Americans died to protect.

Answer 2

Have you ever read 1984? In the book and in the film adaptations Big Brother is clearly the bad guy, a scenario to be avoided at all costs. Now, because of 9/11, I'm hearing arguments rationalizing the creation of an American big brother. The government can engage in spying in the name of self defense. there is simply no reason for them to do it outside the law and no reason for them to listen to my conversations to tap my emails unless a judge signs a warrant. That's my right as an American citizen and one I won't give up simply to placate the paranoia of someone else. Using your logic, the police can come into your home any time they wish looking for evidence of wrong doing. If you're not doing anything wrong then what have you to hide?

Answer 3

Preserving our freedom is definitely much more important. Our freedom of independent thought, and opinions.*******

*spying on terrorists may give us the insight into their next moves but if we could deal with the issues that drive them to kill that would prevent it. Maybe we should spy on them and also try to solve their issues too- they are people after all!*

we definitely still need to spy on terrorists to sust them out before they kill people but more understanding as to why they do what they do is required so that we can help them.
Personally I don't care who's watching me because I'm proud of my opinions and it just means more people are reading them. I'm not bothered by big brother!

Answer 4

Whether someone has done something wrong or not the Constitution makes it clear that authorities should not be prying into your private life. Illegal search and seizure. They may not actually have probable cause but if they don't like you they can always find SOMETHING to pin on you. Look at Joe McCarthy how he ruined the lives of so many innocent people just by inferring they were Communists when they were not.

Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up a little freedom for a little safety deserve neither freedom or safety."

Answer 5

Preserving freedom is *much* more important--if terrorists are going to attack, they are going to do so whether or not anyone listened to their phone conversations or read their e-mail. People have been watching too much 24--it isn't that easy to find them.

To the people who say "if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear" seem to forget that dictatorships frequently imprision people who really haven't done anything wrong! You *do* have something to fear from those types of governments....

Answer 6

No! It is not true that if you have nothing to hide, you should not be bothered by Bush breaking laws to violate American's right to privacy.

First off, the terrorists want to destroy our way of life. America was based on:

1. The Constitution

2, The Bill of Rights

3. Our Civil Rights

If we ignore the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Civil Rights as Bush and his Administration have been doing, then we have destroyed our way of life for them! They have accomplished what they wanted to, All they had to do was scare us and they used Bush, His Administration, Congress and Our fears to destroy the foundation of our country.

Our forefathers came to this country to flee religious persecution. The Constitution, Bill of Rights and Civil Rights are designed to preserve our freedom.

Our Freedom was extremely important to our forefathers. It must be preserved first and foremost. There are enough avenue to permit our government access to what they need.

They have a FISA court which can grant them permission right away to access phone records or to record conversations or access Internet use. What Bush is attempting to do is grant him the unilateral right to decide who to do surveillance on. Mainly to cover their butts on people they committed a crime by doing surveillance on without approval from the Court. The Court pretty much rubber-stamps the approval on anything the Administration says it needs so there is no reason for Bush to NOT have to get approval.

For those of you who say the Right to Privacy is not covered in either the Constitution, Bill of Rights or Civil Rights, below is part of the 4th 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, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

At the time this was written, the only form of communication is writing. As a result, as technology has advanced, other forms of communication have been covered as well. As a result the phone, Internet, e-mail, fax and other forms of communication have been covered under the 4th Amendment.

We need to hold our Representatives to the same laws that we must obey. To not do so, is ignoring the Constitution of the United States.

The argument you gave is people defending a crime with the only argument available to them. If we followed the same reasoning, we could say that anyone could access your health records for national security. Bet Rush Limbaugh would argue that one! They have no more right to what you read, what web pages you look at, your e-mail or your phone calls then they do your medical records. They can get them if they show the court they need them That is good enough!!!!!!

So if you are so all fired up to give up your rights, how about the right to bear arms. We wouldn't want the terrorists to get any guns from us (Of course they do not have to since we just hand it to them in the form of arms agreements!) Somehow I doubt you want to give up that right! It is the only right the Bush Administration has not taken from us. That ,and the right to not house a British soldier!


Remember! A right once lost is rarely regained.

Answer 7

Here is the deal. Our rights are going fast at our own request. If your privacy in a conversation or email is more important than the rights you have lost in property ownership, the way you raise your family, the way you spend your money, the right to stand against the government, the right of free travel or the right to own weapons or even have in you possession the materials to build weapons to defend against said government then you just squawk all you want. Personally e-mail and telephone I have never considered secure and it is the least of any rights I am willing to part with.

Answer 8

As with the whole Roe V. Wade abortion argument, I defy you to find a single reference to 'privacy' in the Bill of Rights or the Constitution. You have a right to be protected from unlawful search and seizure, and that's about it. As far as the second part of your question, I could care less if someone listens to my phone conversations. I regularly discuss politics with my father over the phone, and use the names of hostile nations and dictators that probably trips a recording somewhere, but does that bother me? No. Because I understand that they would have to invent some pretty amazing evidence to consider me a threat, and the fallout from imprisoning even one innocent citizen would be so dire that they will avoid it at all costs.

Answer 9

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety.
Benjamin Franklin
It has nothing to do with if you have done nothing wrong. When a government goes after it's own citizens liberties, that country is in jeopardy of loosing more than liberties.

HenryVIII I just saw your post. Great minds...

Answer 10

People don't realize that having the government looking into your e-mails, listening to your phone conversations, etc can lead to them misinterpreting what they read and see. Things are taken out of context all the time, are you willing to accept the consequences of a conversation or e-mail being misinterpreted?