The USA Patriot Act and the Violation of Human Rights

             According to a Kean University (2006) report, "the Patriot Act was established after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and its main point was to protect people from terrorism. Specifically, it allows FBI agents to search personal information of people, to read their emails, and listen to their private phone calls" (para 1). Before the Patriot Act, such acts were protected by the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution which require a warrant for the search or seizure of property. Theoretically, a Constitutional amendment should supersede any law passed by Congress, but in practice the Patriot Act became the practice. While the US government utilized the Patriot Act since its passage in 2001, it was not until December of 2005 when the New York Times reported that "the government monitored international telephone calls and international email messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants" (Pro Publica, "Warrentless Wiretapping Revealed"). .
             The Patriot Act became increasingly controversial, and both libertarians and left-leaning Democrats voiced opposition toward the act. Yet despite the increasing public angst about the unconstitutional spying program, President Bush renewed the act in 2006, as it was set to expire. Ironically, President Barack Obama, who as a senator voiced concern toward lawfulness of the program, signed a four year extension that continued some of the most controversial elements of the law (ACLU, 2011). Even during the Presidential Election of 2012, Republican candidates Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul sparred over the legality and benefits of the law, demonstrating how the debate continues into the present. Ultimately, the debate over the Patriot Act is portrayed in American politics to embody the perennial debate over security versus liberty. Proponents of the security aspects, and by extension the Act, argue that in today's world, with the threat of terrorism, the United States must adopt unprecedented tactics to counter the threats of both domestic and international terrorism.