USA

If you’ve been to, or seen the White House, then you may have noticed the white columns in the center. Believe it or not, these columns originate from Ancient Rome. And so did a lot of things that you see in the US, like domes and arches. You could say that the modern US and Ancient Rome are not that different. Yet they are, we have our own, original architecture, language, and government. The modern US and Ancient Rome have many similarities and differences, the lessons from Rome could help the…

Apple to create a key? In 2008 the ACLU said a “Justice’s Office of the Inspector General revealed a systemic, widespread abuse of power. It found serious breaches of department regulations and multiple potential violations of the law relating to the USA patriot act.” They used the patriot act to obtain large amount of private information on…

The United States government has been secretly spying on its citizens and has built a database that records every phone call made in the United States. Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, said, “Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT ACT has been secretly interpreted to authorize the collection of America’s phone records on an unprecedented scale” (Leahy 1). Where does the government get the authority to do such a thing? According to Leahy, the government can only collect information that is relevant…

The USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001) Act was enacted by Congress in 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and “vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances … and the ability to challenge government searches in court”, (ACLU, 2010). The act permits investigators to conduct searches, authorizes…

The Cost of Freedom As Americans continue to heavily rely on digital means of media and communication, surveillance over the population becomes easier than ever for the government to carry out. One of the main institutions created in the United States to gather intelligence is the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA monitors the phone calls, emails, text messages, contacts, photos, video calls, and many other aspects of digital communication utilized in today’s world as a means to protect…

I never quite understood the importance of privacy or political correctness as a child. The quick-witted banter that I had developed between friends really had no filter. I could say what I wanted, and how I wanted to say it without fear of ramifications, and my friends did the same. They were just words to us; they had little meaning, and if a conflict did erupt, it quickly fizzled out. However, the world changes, culture changes, ideas change, and with that so do freedoms. This is how my…

Throughout history censorship has followed people’s freedom of expression like a shadow. When I fled my country Ethiopia, not only as a result of censorship, but also extreme intimidation, I left my entire family behind. While others continued to write controversial statements about the government and politics, I left because I was not a fighter. Even though Ethiopia’s Constitution explicitly protects freedom of speech, in reality the government ignores it for the most part. In 2011, Reeyot…

technology, however, the line begins to blur. The exponential growth of technology within the 21st century alongside the growing threat of terrorism has led the government to conduct surveillance and searches through technology. Laws and acts such as the USA PATRIOT act have granted the government increasingly more freedom to gather information through technology. While the…

Should the security of our nation outweigh individual freedoms? America wants to use all of its resources to help fight the war on terror, and has all rights to do so. The security of our nation being a issue because our leaders want to keep america safe and free from foreign invasion. Because of the 9/11 attacks on american soil, we have taken all measures to prevent another incident from occurring by using simple, accessible powers the government has. The government wants to closely watch…

Just days after the 9/11 attack, on September 19, 2001, President George W. Bush proposed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and congress quickly passed the law with virtually no debate or opposition. The 9/11 crisis united the country in the desire to try to prevent future terrorist attacks, and the Patriot’s Act’s supporters claimed that its provisions were…