Security versus Liberty in the US Fight Against Terror Essay

It is now 64 years since George Orwell released the famous futuristic novel â€Å"1984†. In the book he describes a frightening society with omnipresent government surveillance. Big Brother is watching you. His novel has never been more relevant than after the war against terror gave the government reason to increase the surveillance. The war against terror is bringing us closer to Orwells dystopian society. Do we have to pay this high price to win the war against terror? After 9/11, the USA and the rest of the world were in shock. To keep the American people calm the government had to act fast. On the same day as the attack of the Twin Towers, President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism. On October the 26th 2001, the USA Patriot Act†¦show more content†¦The Patriot Act gave the FBI mandate to search without warrant, eavesdrop and detain and deport terrorism suspects. Despite all this effort the US once again experienced terror attacks in 2011 as the Tsarnev brothers executed the Boston Marathon bombings, killing 3 and injuring 264 people. Investigations showed that these radical Islamists had been under the radar for quite some time. They had even been warned by the Russian Federal Security Service about the Chechen brothers turning towards radicalism. (2013, Wikipedia) The result of this was that the President gave more powers to the FBI, once again weakening the principals of the Rechtsstaat. The FBI could now arrest and interrogate without reading them their rights as well as interviewing witnesses without identifying themselves as FBI agents. The government is gradually sacrificing liberty in the fight against terror. It looks like the liberty will lose more and more terrain in the years to come. (2013) In April 2005, Americans were asked whether they thought the Patriot Act went too far or not. The result was surprising, 30% of the people asked thought that the Act gave the government too much power, while 41% believed that it did not. The poll also showed that the people who knew a lot about the Patriot Act mostly believed that it went too far, 45%, 37 % said about right and 17% did notShow MoreRelated Controversy ove the Patriot Act Essay2105 Words   |  9 Pagesact is viewed with utmost contempt for its Orwellian nature allowing Big Brother to read your email and look through your library records. The security versus liberty debate prevails with both sides citing legal and ethical reasons in support or in opposition to this controversial act. 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