privacy+9-11

Home 9-11 Assignment 9-11 Group Topics

How did 9/11 change us? How much privacy are you willing to give up to in order to be safe?



CONTINUUM QUESTION: Has the willingness to give up privacy for safety made the United States stronger? How does your group answer the continuum question? Reach a consensus on your position and mark it with an " * " on the continuum.

WEAKER---*STRONGER



Through the USA Patriot Act, America has been strengthened since September 11th, 2001 through public sense of security, harsher prosecution against terrorism and better communications between the government and FBI. The public has had trouble accepting that by giving up a little of their privacy they are bettering their chances at a safer society. Thoughts of whether the act is constitutional or not have been floating around and have found their way into federal court. “We believe that the government should be required to convince a judge that records they are seeking have some connection to a suspected terrorist or spy,” stated Obama and other Senators. Another change in thinking is the way we prosecute terrorists. We have added “mass destruction” to the list and have been able to charge them with higher penalties since the 2005 amendments were made. The act now states that the new qualifications of terrorism include activities appearing “intended to affect the conduct if a government by destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.” Now the government can be more efficient and punish terrorists at a higher level. An improvement in the prevention of terrorism is how people are now sharing tips and other information with the FBI. When the FBI receives the intelligence they then share it with other parts of the government who can set up covert missions that can catch the terrorists faster. With all of the new changes in our country the USA Patriot Act has improved our security by sacrificing some of our privacy, after the tragedies of September 11th, 2001 we have modified our government to a more safer environment.

__Works Cited__: Cell-Phone Data?" //New York Times// 24 June 2011: n. pag. //The New York Times//. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. . || . || //Reform the Patriot Act//. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. . || *each source has been checked with domaintools.com*
 * < Benjamin, Mark. "New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your
 * < Eggen, Dan. //Washington Post// 7 Sept. 2007: 3. //Washington Post//. Web. 2 Sept. 2011.
 * < "Patriot Act-Eight Years Later." //Reform the Patriot Act// 27 May 2011: 2.

ACRONYM:

by to and
 * U**niting
 * S**trengthening
 * A**merica
 * P**roviding
 * A**ppropriate
 * T**ools
 * R**equired
 * I**ntercept
 * O**bstruct
 * T**errorism
 * ACT of 2001**

RUBRIC: A quality statement of the Group's Position will •clearly state a position that answers the Group's question,an •explain the Group's placement on the continuum •support the position and continuum placement with clear, focused evidence from each member of the group, •explain how the evidence clarifies and supports the group's position, •establish the credibility of each source, •cite the evidence with internal citations and include a Works Cited below the statement, •conclude by recommending the actions that American society should take going forward, •strictly adhere to the Power Paragraph format, •edit so that mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning. •be posted on the group’s wiki page.

Quality Participation with the Group and the Town Meeting includes , •engagement in organization and consensus building to develop the statement and wiki page, •collaboration in the writing and presentation of the statement the press, •quality individual contributions during the Question and Answer portion of the Town Meeting.