Civil Liberties Post 9/11

After the traumatic events of September 11th, 2001 our country bounded together in solidarity to fight terrorism. We all stood together and pledged allegiance to this country with an invigorated sense of patriotism. Democrats and Republicans put there differences aside as Congress worked together to defend our nation and its citizens against the new terrorist threat. When you have such corporation issues like privacy rights, due process, and free speech just didn't matter anymore. As a nation we became so unified and you could not drive down a street in any city and not see an American flag waving. This was the indication to our government that the people of this nation will not criticize government action and will not tolerate disagreement between parties. It was the time for action that was driven by fear and anger.

What will Congress do to protect us? A mare five weeks after 9/11 on October 2001, the Patriot Act was signed by President George W. Bush. The Patriot Act was sold to the general public as an appropriate tool required intercepting and obstructing terrorism. Most Americans did not know the detail behind the act but they knew they needed our government to do something. But the public were not the only ones ignorant to the Act, many representatives had never even read the bill, much less debated it. But that did stop the Senate from passing the bill by an unbelievable 98-1 margin. The only Senator to oppose the bill was Russ Feingold a Democrat from Wisconsin. When the bill went to the House of Representatives it passed with an astonishing 357 to 66. Most America voters and elected officials were not concerned that the bill will threaten many of our basic rights all they were alarmed about was the deadly new threat of terrorism. The Patriot Act eroded the First amendment, Fourth amendment, and Fifth Amendment.

The Patriot Act crumbles the First Amendment because it contains specifications that will criminalize an individual's right to expressions of their political views (Mount, 2001). Section 802 of the Act defines domestic terrorism as "acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of criminal laws" that "appear to be intended to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion." The Act distortions the lines between speech and criminal activity and calls it domestic terrorism (Preserving Life and Liberty, 2007).

The Fourth Amendment protects against unfair searches and seizures, and requires law enforcement officers to get a warrant from a judge certifying that there is probable cause to believe that criminal activity has taken place before for any search (Mount, 2001). The Patriot Act was signed by the President to protect us from terrorist but did anyone know what the three hundred and forty-two page document said. The Patriot Act amends fifteen or more statutes, to include surveillance provisions that had previously failed in Congress for years due to the lack of political support. But it didn't stop at just surveillance, the restrictions previously placed on wiretaps, search warrants, and subpoenas were reduced (Preserving Life and Liberty, 2007).

The law previously demanded that law enforcement notify the suspected persons of any searches warrant by a search warrant and if something was taken or seized. If an item was seized a receipt was given to the property owner. The Patriot Act amended this process, no prior notification had to be given to a search and the government didn't have to immediately notify the person that the search occurred.

Additionally,