Persuasive Essay On Domestic Surveillance

Ever since September 11, 2001, America has increased its domestic and foreign surveillance to prevent another catastrophe that has become known as 9-11. And with this increase in surveillance has come an increase in the American people’s desire for privacy. With the recent leaks by Edward Snowden, that desire has become even greater. However, there is no defined line for when the government is keeping you safe or for when it is simply violating your privacy. I feel that with the ever growing threats in the world that the government has the right to go to great links in domestic surveillance to keep the nation safe. And to see why I believe this I’m going to examine the following five points: the Fourth Amendment, Europe, the Patriot Act, technological companies, and lone wolf terrorism. One major factor opposing the American government, especially the NSA, from performing domestic surveillance is the Fourth Amendment. Senator Rand Paul “…has made the NSA program a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, saying it violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search

Lone wolves are terrorists who act on their own accord and are not ordered by large scale extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL, Boko Haram, and Hezbollah; however, they may still be a part of a terrorist group. Lone wolves are so dangerous because they are seen as wild cards or loose cannons. Communications between members of a large terrorist organization are easier to monitor than the decisions of one individual. Some of the only indications that lone wolves are plotting something is when they directly say what their plans are. In fact “they found that 76% of attackers in the US since 9/11 spoke publicly about their plans in the weeks and hours before the incident, including on Facebook and Twitter” (Safi). It’s lone wolves who are already inside the United States plotting their attacks that the government is monitoring