Ted Lipowicz
English 102-111
March 19, 2012
Essay #4 Outline
Title: Retaining Freedom: How the United States Can Overcome Terrorism
Thesis: I believe that the best option for the United States to begin a process to repeal the provisions created by the Patriot Act, NDAA and any other laws that infringe on the civil liberties of the average American citizen. In turn the United States will create a more free society and overcome the fears of terrorism all while maintaining the national security they sought to create.
I. The United States has forsaken or changed many of the essential right that were set forth by the nation’s forefathers in the drafting of the United States Constitution
a. The Patriot Act has continued to greatly infringe on the personal rights of citizens over the decade.
i. The surveillance and the wire-tapping allowed in the provisions of the Patriot Act are a clear infringement of the rights granted to citizens in the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights (Zeljak)
ii. Accused terrorists have commonly been detained indefinitely with no legal correspondence. This has occurred in many cases where the accused was found to be entirely innocent after months of detainment (Edgar and Rosenzweig)
iii. The government has disrespected the rights of businesses to protect the confidential information of their customers. This provision has even proved to be against the law in some courts (Swartz)
b. The NDAA may bring forth a new era of government infringement on personal rights.
i. According to congressman, Ron Paul the current way that the bill is written will allow the government to infringe on the rights granted to citizens in the 5th Amendment (Wolverton).
ii. The bill is not very descriptive as to who would be considered a terrorist under its provision (Wolverton).
iii. President Obama has even shown discomfort with the law, stating that he will not enforce it and office. He also acknowledges the numerous gray areas of the bill in this statement (Hill)
II. By starting a process to remove the provisions of these bills the nation will find itself overcoming terrorism.
a. The enacting of such laws only allows terrorism to further prevail
i. The quintessential goal of terrorism is to insight fear in the group of people they target.
ii. Changing one’s way of life in response to the events of terrorist attack shows that true fear was created as a result, which only shows that the terrorists have succeeded in their goal.
iii. Joseph Hoar and Charles Krulak support this concept saying that laws like the NDAA only allows Osama bin Laden to achieve his primary goal in his death (Hoar and Krulak).
b. The repealing of these laws will start the United States’ process to a sense of normalcy.
i. One of the best ways that a group of people can stand up in the face of terror is by showing that they will continue to support what they believe in.
ii. Americans will be able to be defiant in the face of terror by staying true to their beliefs and the principles that the nation was founded upon.
III. Many people will have many concerns regarding security after the repealing of these laws, however legal provisions will be made to still provide a safe environment.
a. One of the places where security concerns will be greatest is at airports.
i. Upon the passing of the Patriot Act, one of the things that the United States did was enact much stricter airport security laws in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th.
ii. My suggestion to maintain this safety in a more constitutional manner is to allow the airline companies to run security as opposed to the TSA.
iii. As stated by congressman Ron Paul in such a system the security will have to answer to their customers, this would in turn provide a more responsive security force that have as much security as air-traveling citizens are willing to have (Privatize Airport Security).
b. There is also the question as to how the United States will continue to fight terrorism and potential enemies abroad.
i. The United States has become very involved in the matters of other nations in order to stop terrorism since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
ii. Much of this involvement has only antagonized Americans in the eyes of many groups of people.
iii. American presence in Saudi Arabia and Iraq were primary motives behind many of the attacks carried out by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda (CNN-Osama bin Laden).
iv. By gradually removing their military presence in the Middle East the United States will begin to relieve the tension that has been causing continuous terrorist attacks.
Conclusion: The fear caused by the September 11th terrorist attacks has led America to lose its identity. As a result of this fear the government has grown more susceptible towards taking away the personal freedoms of the individual to create their idea of freedom. The only way that the people of the United States can overcome this fear and regain their identity is by retaking their constitutional freedoms. To do so this would entail removing the provisions of the Patriot Act and the NDAA, which directly impede on the rights of citizens. In doing so the United States can truly overcome terrorism. As Benjamin Franklin once said “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety”.
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