Indeed, it has been observed with regret that the 9/11 attacks in the United States of America was partly due to the inaction and inability of the security agencies of the nation. In reaction, the government has embarked on a number of preventive activities including spying on the citizenry. However, while everyone appreciates the need for security in the nation, it is this paper’s humble contention that such security should be provided within the realm of the law. In that context, the agencies concerned including the security agencies should conduct their operations in appreciation of the provisions of the Constitution and the other laws. Some of the relevant laws include the controversial Patriots Act which in this paper’s opinion threatens the privacy rights of the citizenry. However, the scope of this paper is limited to the issue of spying on the citizenry by the National Security Agency. In this paper’s opinion, such spying is illegal, inconsistent with the spirit and the letter of the law and has no place America’s jurisprudence.
In late 2005, through the concerted efforts of the New York Times, it was acrimoniously revealed that the government through NSA was illegally tapping the communication among the citizenry in what the then incumbent President, George Bush, would admit to as a necessary ingredient in terrorism surveillance. Later, in early 2006, whistle blower evidence from former AT & T technician would reveal information connecting his former employers to the illegal surveillance. Apparently, AT & T was cooperating with the agency in this illegal act which is against the spirit and letter of the Constitution in respect of the privacy clause. Indeed, the government is currently holed up in litigation on the same issue with three cases namely Jewel V NSA, Shubert v Obama and First Unitarian V USA still in their earlier stages. However, without prejudice to the courts which this paper humbly submits to, it can be demonstrated convincingly that the government’s activities on the same are misguided and an affront to the law.
The place of privacy must not be gainsaid. Ideally, the United States of America has a known and commended fountain of democracy must not falter in its democratic nobles. The right to privacy and confidentiality remains one such core ingredient to democracy. On that premise, this paper rejects in its entirety the line of thought entertained by the government in respect to matters of privacy. In addition, the paper submits that the National Security Agency be held to account to its citizenry. Ideally, it is anticipated that their actions shall go into the defence of the citizenry and the protection of the territorial integrity of the United States of America. However, as it stands now, nothing could be further from the truth. Their actions have only made the citizenry more fearful and less trustful of institutions in the nation. It is, therefore, imperative that they engage a change in their trajectory and work towards protecting the citizens through legal mechanisms and not unorthodox applications. In that strain, it is equally necessary to impose sanctions on private companies that chose the easy yet illegal line of cooperating with the government in the conveyance of private information. One such company that should immediately pay and apologize to the nation is AT & T if the information by its former employee is anything to go by. Finally, the Patriot Act continues to be misapplied and it high time Congress amended the Act.
References
Electronic Frontier Foundation . (2013, March 14). NSA Spying on Americans . Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Electronic Frontier Foundation : https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying
Electronic Frontier Foundation. (2013, April 13). Timeline of NSA Domestic Spying . Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Electronic Frontier Foundation : https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/timeline
United States of America. (n.d.). Patriot Act, 2011.
