Justifying the Patriots Act - Research Paper Example

of the History and Political Science of the Concerned 2 May Patriot Act There is no denying the fact that Patriot Act is a piece of legislation that has accrued much controversy and opposition since the day of its inception. As is the practice in democratic societies, it is imperative for any legislation to garner much public debate and support before being actualized into a statutory reality. Hence, in that context, Patriot Act is not an exception and this legislation deserves as much public criticism and debate as any other law, before it is established beyond doubt that the Patriot Act is a legislation that is not only imperative and apt in the context of the times in which it is placed, but this law has also done much to safeguard the American interests and the lives and property of the common Americans in the wake of the rise of the global terrorism (Browne 1). Before delving on the validity and appropriateness of the Patriot Act, it is a must to take a stock of the typical American mindset and way of thinking. The opposition garnered by the Patriot Act could only be well understood when it is placed aside the essential American ethos and the values and norms that are dear to Americans. America is a nation that is devoted to the values of liberty and strongly shuns any law or arrangement that takes something out of the rights and privileges extended to the masses by the constitution of the United States of America. Though the detractors of Patriot Act abhor it as an intrusion into the privacy of the common Americans, a more balanced and sane approach towards this legislation establishes beyond doubt that it is a law that is pivotal to the security and safety of the United States of America (Browne 1). Before trying to wrest any strong opinion regarding the appropriateness and validity of the Patriot Act it is important to understand the times in which this legislation was conceived and the things it intended to do. The USA PATRIOT Act was act of the US Congress that was signed into law on October 26, 2001. It goes without saying that the Patriot Act was a response to the mayhem caused by the 9/11 terrorist acts and intended to safeguard the life and property of the American masses. As the full form of the Patriot Act that is Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act suggests, the purpose of the Patriot Act was to strengthen the arms of the America law and order agencies and the intelligence community by endowing to them a range of powers and possibilities. It is really worthwhile to delve on the provisions brought into existence by this act. The Patriot Act intended to safeguard civil liberties. It allowed the Secret Service to establish a nationwide electronic surveillance system and provided for the confiscation of the property of foreign persons engaging in terrorist acts (Department of Justice 1). It widened the potential of the intelligence services to conduct surveillance on the terrorist elements, without being subservient to the consent of the courts (Department of Justice 1). This act intended to curtail the financial power of the terrorist groups and stressed a stronger border security (Department of Justice 1). The National Security Letters (NSL) provision of this act allowed access to the paper work related to the suspicious citizens, to the intelligence agencies (Department of Justice 1). It facilitated an enhanced sharing of information and inputs between the intelligence agencies and had provisions for extending compensation to the victims of terrorism (Department of Justice 1). The Patriot Act also brought in a range of crimes within the ambit of what is broadly defined as acts of terrorism (Department of Justice 1). The overall purpose of the Patriot Act was to bring about the sweeping changes that not only armed the law and order institutions and intelligence agencies with the teeth they needed to wage a pragmatic war on the terrorist groups targeting the United States of America, but also to bring in provisions and arrangements that minimally infringed the privacy of the common citizens and extended compensatory help to them in case they ended up being victims of the acts of terrorism (Browne 1). The essence of the Patriot Act was to bolster the US security and streamline the nation’s response towards the acts of terrorism. The beauty of this piece of legislation is that its focus is the protection of the American nationals from domestic and foreign terrorism (Etzioni 57). It is for the first time that some legislation tried to formally define as to what constituted the domestic and foreign terrorism (Etzioni 57). This act culled in effective and useful elements from a range of existent laws and tried to apply them to the fight against terrorism. It empowered the intelligence agencies with the essential flexibility and maneuverability that they badly required to fight terrorism. For instance it allowed the intelligence agencies to contact a Federal judge for soliciting search warrants anywhere they suspected an act of terrorism was being planned or initiated (Etzioni 70). It was only owing to the Patriot Act that a framework came into existence that allowed for a seamless sharing of information and inputs between the intelligence agencies and the law and order institutions (Etzioni 31). This act allowed for a larger authority to the law enforcement agencies to garner evidence against terrorist groups and elements. Courtesy the Patriot Act, after 9/11 there had not been any major terrorist attack on the US soil. Not to mention that Patriot Act did much to bolster the confidence and moral of the American masses that had severely dwindled in the aftermath of the 9/11 mayhem (Etzioni 14). It heartened the common masses that the law and order system was fast gearing up in response to the emerging realities and was powerful and competent enough to protect the American lives and property from the unwarranted acts of terrorism. The Patriot Act was a timely response to the fears and apprehensions of the common citizens whose confidence and sense of security was severely jolted by the 9/11 disaster and who badly needed some kind of surety from the state and the law makers they voted to power (Etzioni 14). The detractors of the Patriot Act tend to criticize it for extending sweeping powers to the intelligence powers to eavesdrop into the lives of ordinary citizens and to infringe their privacy (Purpura 74). The thing that needs to be kept into mind is that the act clearly mentions that these powers will be exploited by intelligence agencies only to investigate into the terrorist activities and acts. The other thing that the critics of Patriot Act need to look into is that the Patriot Act was passed in the backdrop of the 9/11 carnage. At that time the nation was in a risky and precarious situation and there existed potential doubts and possibilities that the terrorist groups may try to target the US citizens and property many a times (Etzioni 14). So the law enforcement agencies and intelligence groups needed more than average leverage and powers to immediately bring into existence a fool proof security setup (Purpura 74). Liberty and freedom comes at a price. The privacy of the citizens is important but if the provisions for privacy start giving an edge to the terrorist groups and make it more than possible for them to target the American lives, it sound a little commonsensical that the citizens should be willing to dilute their privacy requirements, to better enable the security agencies fight terrorism. Besides, the Patriot Act could be amended at a later stage, when the threats to the US security are not that imminent and pressing. The other thing that is feared about the Patriot Act is that it has the capacity to engender a civic environment where innocuous statements and expressions supporting civil rights, human rights and the freedom of speech may be interpreted to be acts of subversion or espionage, as the Patriot Act had brought in a range of activities within the scope of the acts of terrorism (Finan 281). This fear realistically speaking is baseless and too much exaggerated. The Patriot Act needs to be interpreted in the light of the broader provisions of the American constitution. In case any citizens feel that one’s rights are being infringed by some provision of the act one could definitely take recourse to the ameliorating provisions enshrined in the larger American legal framework to seek redress as the provisions of the Patriot Act strictly mandate that the privacy of the citizens will be infringed if only they are doubted of being associated with terrorism. Besides many of the provision of the Patriot Act are sunset provisions that are bound to expire in a time bound manner, unless not resuscitated with additional legislations (Finan 347). So, in a way the framers of the Patriot Act were aware that it happened to be a quick response to a pressing situation. The relevance and appropriateness of the Patriot Act needs to be seen in the light of the chronological and situational context in which it was enacted. The possibilities of the misuse of this act are to a large extent grossly exaggerated and besides many controversial provisions of this act are bound to expire in a time bound manner. Hence, Patriot Act is a crucial legislation that helped America to safeguard and protect itself amidst dangerous and shaky times. Works Cited Browne, Herbert A. The Significance of the Patriot Act Transcends Politics. AFCEA. February 2006. Web. 2 May 2013. Etzioni, Amitai. How Patriotic is the Patriot Act. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Finan, Christopher M. From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act. Boston: Beacon Press , 2007. Print. Purpura, Philip P. Terrorism and Homeland Security. Boston: Heinemann, 2007.Print. The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty. Department of Justice. 2013. Web. 2 May 2013. Read More