The Importance Of The Patriot Act

When thinking about our government, the best advice should be taken by our founding fathers. Ben Franklin said, ”People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both."(1). Should we toss out our Bill of Rights to protect ourselves from a temporary threat(check youtube vid for source)? Should we abandon our inalienable god given rights, from fear of a threat that kills a bit more the amount of people killed from drunk driving?(2)(2.5) The American government should be restrained by the law of the land in order to protect Americans civil liberties. When talking about ensuring our safety and security, we must ask ourselves, at what cost and where do we draw the line? Certainly called the most important

U.S. Code Title 18, Part I, chapter 121, section 2709, empowered by the Patriot Act, states that “no... agent thereof, shall disclose to any person... that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained access to information or records under this section.”(3). This law says you cannot say you were even approached by authorities, let alone share the information they asked for. Even after revisions to the Patriot Act were done in 2005, these revisions were not satisfying enough for people such as U.S. District judge Victor Marrero who ruled, “ several aspects...violate the First Amendment and the principle of separation of powers”(3.5)(4). The first amendment says, “Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech”. By definition, abridge means curtail, or to not impose a restriction on (5). Congress cannot impose a restriction on freedom of speech. Section 2709, creates a restriction on freedom of speech by disallowing a citizen to inform others of his interaction with law enforcement. Any restriction on freedom of speech goes against the first amendment. Any law contradicting an amendment and if a “Law is repugnant to the Constitution is void.”(6) . Therefore, the Patriot Act is

Judge Marrero gave a simple solution that would resolve the problem by, “Sharply limiting the FBI’s ability to silence recipients while allowing more oversight from the courts”(7). As late President James Madison once said, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”(8). A beautiful and powerful aspect of the constitution is the checks and balance of power. It helps safeguard freedoms by stopping any of the three branches of government from getting too powerful (9). Would it not be a great idea to implement this great concept of guarding our liberties to the Patriot Act? As stated before, there is nothing wrong with taking measures to assure the safety of Americans, but just as has been shown, the current criteria for keeping us “safe” is flawed. What is wrong with trying to fix a flawed system by implementing an old American value that there is absolutely zero tolerance for any government overreach? Judges Marreros solution to that unconstitutional flaw, is by no means abnormal to the American style of freedom, where as it actually traces back to the root guardian constructed in our constitution: the Checks and