Patriot Act

As Benjamin Franklin so eloquently put it, "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." The Patriot Act, passed in the guise of keeping Americans safer, does precisely that. The act, put in place in the time of fear following September 11th, was hastily made into law. Americans did not fully consider how it affects all of us in some pretty important ways. In fact, most people don't even have the slightest idea what the Patriot Act is. The House and Senate even just recently allowed this act to be renewed, in July of 2005, despite strong opposition.

The first section of the act states that Americans who happen to have Arab and Muslim background are, "entitled to nothing less than the full rights of every American." But soon after the enactment of the act, over 5,000 Arab men have been interrogated purely because of their ethnic background and religion. Hundreds of men have been detained, their identities kept a mystery, with no formal charges pressed upon them. The media has been prevented from attending the many times unannounced hearings of these men. What the federal government says is seemingly much different from what the federal government does.

United States intelligence and FBI have long wanted more power. They feel that having to go through courts is just a hindrance in their investigations. The act has finally granted them the extra power they have long sought after. Parts of the Patriot Act are even from 1996 anti-terrorism laws, which have been ruled unconstitutional in the past by federal courts.

How could Americans allow an act which so blatantly takes freedoms away to pass? The answer is simple, most Americans don't know. The average person on the street doesn't think the act has anything to do with them, or affect them in any way. They have been told that the act concerns itself with terrorists and foreigners, and that it doesn't apply to American citizens. In actuality, your phone could right now be legally monitored by the FBI, and your house searched without you even knowing, if the FBI had a "significant purpose" to do so in an investigation. No court could even stop them. All of this is because of the subtle way the Patriot Act changes many laws.

One might wonder whether such a search would violate the probable cause warrant requirement. Most people are familiar with this concept. Sadly, probable cause can be evaded by the FBI if they feel they have the