George Bush Patriot Act Essay

985 Words4 Pages

In the wake of 9/11 and the war in Iraq, the threat of terrorism in America reached a new high. In 2005 George W. Bush addressed concerns about the nation's policies concerning homeland security. The policy known as the “Patriot Act” was due to expire and Bush fought for the renewal of this policy with 4 specific reasons. Along with his own opinions he attempts to reinforce his proposition by merely using stories as evidence. During his speech, Bush tries to persuade the audience to support the renewal of the Patriot act in efforts to increase homeland security and abolish terrorist threats to America. Bush addresses the public in a way that flatters the audience and makes them feel as if they have a major role to play in his proposition. “The great strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens.” [Pg. 3] By using speech like this the audience becomes more inclined to agree with his opinions on the subject at hand because he is making it appear as if the citizens have substantial influence on the matter. Bush uses the 9/11 …show more content…

Bush proposes that his third reason to renew the Patriot Act is to be able to have technology to counter these computer attacks and protect classified information such as war tactics. This section of the Patriot Act would allow companies like Google to “…voluntarily disclose information to save lives.”[Pg. 10] the act would protect these companies from being sued by those whose information is leaked. This raises the same concern as Bush’s second reason; once again the privacy of Americans is sacrificed for the potential security of the nation. Bush justifies his viewpoint by saying Americas technology must match those of its enemies in order to thwart cyber threats. He gives no factual evidence to aid his claims, but rather another anecdotal story making this argument his weakest of the