Do you think that the Patriot Act is to keep us safe or to oppress us?

Question

GOP...Matter of fact, yes, I have...as well as every single American alive. Just because they have not used their power, yet, doesn't mean that they wont.

I personally take pride in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I just don't feel that what 19 idiots did constitutes a reason to destroy something that is there to protect ALL Americans from irrational acts from the government.

KR...while I will agree with you, he isn't the ONLY one. Ron Paul also read it and never signed it even in the beginning.

Answer 1

It is designed to oppress us.

It was sold as a way to keep us safe.

"If you trade liberty for added securty, you will gain neither, and lose both" - Thomas Jefferson.

You cannot have liberty by spying on your people.

It just leads to mysterious 'suicides' when some people find out the truth (look into the clinton administration, dozens of suicides and accidents, with top aides as the victims).

Ron Paul votes against the patriot act. He knows well what our founders cautioned against. A hope for America, Ron Paul '08.

Answer 2

You don't have to be a Liberal or Conservative to think about this one. We have our protections in place for a reason. The protections are there to protect us from many possibilities and mostly stem from things that have ACTUALLY happened. Not just cuz somebody figgered on it. When the President of the Country and the head of Law Enforcement in the country comes on TV and says we are going to have to sacrifice some freedoms for security we are all in trouble. The gov't was never ever meant to have Carte Blanche and thats exactly what the Patriot Act does. It gives law enforcement the freedom to bypass all kinds of Supreme Court rulings as well as the ability to override the Constitution of the United States. Personally I'd rather take my chances and maintain my Freedom. The Patriot Act is an embarrasment to our country and every man that has ever claimed a seat in Congress, the Senate or Presidency. And truly it is the most Anti-Conservative, big gov't Act in the history of the country. You cannot truly claim to be a conservative and support the Patriot Act. A conservative isn't a party, or the views of a party. Its a belief system and the Patriot Act completely blows that system out of the water. Its big brother watching over our shoulder and it creates even more big gov't. Truly its a fascist form of gov't. If you are a conservative and claim to support this thing, you are being ignorant and don't know what being a conservative even begins to embody.

Answer 3

While it might have been couched in good intentions, it is nothing more than another way for our government to control and oppress all citizens. Paranoid government leaders are so terrified of 'terrorists' that they have taken away Constitutional rights and privileges which our forefathers died to protect.

NEXT UP: Senate Bill # S.1959 "The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007"
If the Senate passes this bill, your words and actions (even opinions you express on this YaHoo! Answers forum) could be considered "terrorism". This bill eviscerates free speech and empowers government to declare ANYTHING it deems an "extremist belief system", making you a "terrorist", resulting in you being stripped of your U.S. citizenship, tortured or even executed as an enemy of the state.
Your words ALONE could be considered as promoting an "extremist belief system" and would give you no legal recourse for defense, even in the U.S. Supreme Court!
For anyone to say, "Well, I don't write or express any extremist views, so that doesn't apply to me..." is naive and dangerous. THIS NEW LAW VIRTUALLY TAKES AWAY YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH and allow government to prosecute or persecute ANYONE whom it deems as a threat to its power or control.
Citizens have already become encumbered with a hastily-written Patriot Act and a Nazi-inspired Department of Homeland Security, both of which presumes individuals to be guilty until proven innocent.
The Department of Homeland Security is a boondoggle filled with inefficiency, bumbling, and unconstitutional powers. S.1959 will only serve to enhance such taxpayer-funded stupidity and reckless abuse of government power.
Living in a free society comes with risk, even if it means that Barabbas lives among us and possibly endangers our being. If we allow government to control our every move, censor our every word, and erase our every thought, then we haved moved from a republic to a dictatorship.
Contact your senators today and let them know that you will NOT re-elect them if they pass this bill that threatens our very Constitutional freedoms.
When people fear the government, it is tyranny. When government fears the people, it is liberty! -RKO- 11/26/07

Answer 4

I believe that the Patriot Act was meant for one thing... to give the President more power than he should be allowed to have.

Does it make us safer? Possibly. Does it impede the rights of the US CITIZENS?? Very much so. Since the Patriot Act was enacted we have lost many rights, including one of the most important rights of all, Habaes Corpus. How many of you realize that if you are part of any human rights organizations, have publicly protested, or made your voice heard in a critical way against the actions of this government, that you very likely are now on a "watch list"? You'd be amazed at how many ARE for just those reasons.

Answer 5

A politician doesn't make a single move until they know if its going to increase or decrease their power. Sorry to anyone who thinks government is an altruistic endeavor, but the fact is that power seeks power and NO ONE in power gives it up without a fight.

That said, the PATRIOT Act drastically increases the power of federal politicians by attempting to ignore the 4th amendment and allowing the federal government to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant or proof of probable cause.

There's a reason our constitution requires warrants, because whether or not you have something to hide the FBI and CIA can flip your life upside down. Ask Mayfield, the latest U.S. citizen to be abused by an unaccountable government: http://www.undergroundpolitics.com/index.php/policy_and_international_politics/federal_court_finds_patriot_act_unconstitutional.html

Answer 6

It's designed to terrify us into silence and submission.

Remember Ari Fleicher's admonition that everyone should "watch what we say"? It's a well-known fact (among people with brains anyway) that law enforcement had been asking for years for everything in the so-called Patriot Act in order to do away with your civil liberties, and every one of them were illegal overreaches.

Can any of you frightened little cowards who are so willing to live under a police state tell me exactly how many "al Qaeda" types have been captured with the Patriot Act? And since their activities were illegal anyway, how come existing laws weren't up to the task? Unless, of course, the point is to do away with existing law and replace it with totalitarianism.

Answer 7

It is not keeping us safe,so...... Seriously though it is not that much different in intent and content than the enabling acts of Hitler. It is part of a pattern of acts that are designed to place the American People in thralldom.

Answer 8

To oppress ordinary Americans.

Answer 9

It is obvious to the most casual observer that the Patriot Act is a misnomer! It is being used by the Bush Administration to implement some of the Big Brother tactics that H.G. Wells wrote about. Bush and his neo-Conservative brethren believe that government needs to control all aspects of the citizens life. However; what the forget is that what they put in place today might not necessarily always be under the control of a Republican administration. What will they do if all the power they acquired for "W" falls into the hands of someone like Hillary?

Answer 10

No, I don't think the Patriot Act is to keep us safe, although that was the intent. I will not go so far as to say it is to oppress us. What I will say, is that it has the potential to be used against the general population for any purpose as the government deems necessary. This flys in the face of what our founding fathers intended, a society free from oppression. We can not assume that the 'good'; guys will always be in power. Remember the Nazis were viewed as good thing early on for Germany.