Government Surveillance Essay

With globalization becoming widespread, the globe has encountered increased counts of terrorism. America has had several encounters with this issue. Due to the events that occurred on 9/11, our country has taken multiple initiatives to prevent any more terrorists’ attacks from occurring on our own soil. One major initiative is widespread domestic surveillance. Most people believe that this initiative has gone too far, but I have to disagree. I believe that the current measures of safety we have right now are weak. They aren’t only necessary, but vital. The utilization of government surveillance has existed for centuries. Originally the use of government surveillance was implemented as people who hide in society and report issues and events

Sometimes it reveals its surveillance programs to the general public. Other times it’s revealed through certain people, such as Edward Snowden. Edward Snowden is a “former NSA contractor who was one of about 1,000 systems administrators who ran the agency’s networks.” According to a New York Times article dated on June 18th, 2013, Edward Snowden leaked the government’s major database containing all domestic American phone calls” (Savage). “The National Security Agency – which possesses only limited authority to spy on U.S. citizens – has built a surveillance network that covers more Americans’ Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say. …Reaching roughly 75 percent of all U.S. internet traffic, according to Siobhan Gorman reports on the News Hub” (Valentino-Devries). The government also states that the surveillance will be strictly foreign, however, it is more likely that domestic communications will be intercepted instead for foreign purposes, such as measures to protect our national welfare and security. The Wall Street Journal is conducting an investigation into the information of personal privacy in America. “The

If you are unfamiliar with screening, it is basically the TSA’s way of checking your body for anything that might harm another person, object, or airport property. Screening has become widespread and commonplace in major airports since the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. I believe that screening is essential to providing security for airfare purposes both domestically and internationally. If we didn’t have these screenings, imagine what a person could bring onto the plane with him/her. There is no telling how much danger would be presented to airliners if we didn’t do these mandatory safety checks. Just imagine what a terrorist group could bring onto the plane. Do you think that they wouldn’t? Even with screenings available today, people have already been detained for attempting to bring weapons and bombs aboard airplanes. Would you feel safe if the person next to you could possibly hijack the airplane and crash it into a building, killing everyone? How many lives could be saved, if everyone took a 5-minute screening? I would have to say most likely hundreds, if not thousands. This stance can be argued against a major disagreement, constitutional