Liberty Vs. Security

Improved Essays
Liberty vs. Security
Our first attempts at a government gave us the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and an outline of what the founding fathers wanted the United States of America to be. They believed in a limited government, because they had already lived under a tyrannical ruler, and the United States was their vision of living in a free world. If too much power is given over to one person, you will end up with a Hitler, or a Kim Jong-Il. I believe Benjamin Franklin hit the nail on the head, and at the rate the United States is going, we will not be the democracy our founding fathers intended. Men have always wanted to be powerful and control what is around them, it is human nature. I was always taught that our President was more of a figurehead, someone to rally around and look to in times of distress. The true power of our government was supposed to be split up and there were things in place to keep that one man, (like our President), from becoming that dictator we all fear. Unfortunately, since 9/11 we have handed over more and more absolute power to our government, and in some cases, especially to the President. All of our “freedoms” that we so cherish, are one by one being stripped away, all under the guise of terrorism. I do not deny that we are
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Following this same line of reasoning the government may jail Americans, without any charges listed or being able to confront witnesses against them. The unlawful combatants as they are called, have been refused legal counsel and are unable to contact anyone. These Americans, under the Patriot Act, can be jailed indefinitely without benefit of a trial. The Patriot Act is a necessity in the war on terror, it should not be used a tool to persecute average American

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