You Do Not Know Me Looking and speaking a different language than the ones surrounding you automatically places you in the spotlight. In Nick’s narrative featured in The Patriot Acts, Nick is a caucasian college student with a beard who is depicted from a group of people at an airport because he had been acting suspicious (George, 322). As Nick’s civil rights were violated after being profiled, I reflected on my experience in Mexico, on how people approach me and judge me because I am not from there, and my high school counselor advised me to go to a different high school. Although Nick is an average caucasian male, he was profiled at the airport. Nick was stopped by the TSA because they thought he initially was acting strange (George 324). After 9/11, airport security became more heighten and rigid. Questioning Nick is a protocol they have to follow to avoid another terrorist attack. The reason for stopping Nick is understandable to an extent, however, it is morally incorrect because anybody could be targeted as a terrorist. I will always be different I’ve always considered myself Mexican, but when I’m visiting relatives in Mexico, I’m a “gringa (white girl).” At home my siblings and I were told we could only speak Spanish. My parents kept their Mexican traditions and passed them on to us, but when I went to Mexico, what I thought was normal, was a complete taboo. At the age of thirteen, I remember helping my uncle at his retail store I was learning Mexican currency, so he had me working the cashier. An old, wrinkly woman, who was covered with a scarf, and carrying a sack full of groceries, approached me at the cashier, ready to check out, when she noticed that I had acrylic nails. I have always loved how nails are decorated in Sinaloa, Mexico. They are vibrantly colored and covered with swarovski crystals. As she noticed my nails, she asked me, “How old are you?” I answered her “I’m thirteen.” With wide eyes and an open “There is two paths in the high school she will be attending, if she doesn’t seek help, she will go go down the bad path,” is what my after school advisor told my parents. She advised my parents to move me to a smaller school, a less credited school. My advisor did not know me. She was unaware that I had attended a private middle school, and I had already chosen my classes. I was on the “good path.” The classes I would be taking were advanced. I was astonished by the proposition she had given my parents. “Why would an advisor tell you to go to a school where gangs and violence is more prevalent?” I spoke out to them. “My brother went to that school and is now attending UCSB, but that’s because he was handed everything in a silver platter. His teachers held his hand throughout his high school years and now he is struggling. Yet, my sister, attended the high school I am going to attend, she is not in a four year college, not because it’s a bad school, but because she didn 't reach out for help.” She rebutted by restating what she had previously said. After about half an hour of debating, we came to an agreement. I would attend the high school of my choice, only if I attended a college advising class. Being placed in this position disappointed me, my parents nor my advisor believed I was capable of
The Constitution of the United States of America protects people’s rights because it limits the power of government against its people. Those rights guaranteed in the Constitution are better known as the Bill of Rights. Within these rights, the Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizures […]” (Knetzger & Muraski, 2008). According to the Fourth Amendment, a search warrant must be issued before a search and seizure takes place. However, consent for lawful search is one of the most common exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
After 9/11 the United States was hurt because of terrorist activities. The terrorist that bomb the base and flew a plane into the twin towers were taught how to fly by some means. If they had been caught before the act then thousands of men, women and children would still be alive. Those terrorists were taught on American soil by American flight instructors. These men had learned at a local airport in Florida. This new policy will act as a Minority Report in order to stop terrorist attacks before they start.
Many people live in fear that they are constantly being watched. Michael Jackson sang it best in the 80 's by saying, "I always feel like, somebody 's watching me," in his hit song with Rockwell. That 's exactly what the NSA and other government organizations are doing today with domestic surveillance. Everywhere Americans go and every corner they turn there is a camera, and every website or email they send is being monitored closely. So what can society do about this? Educate others on the situation and stand up for what is right. Some people believe they must give up some freedoms for protection, but at what cost? What is happening in America is not what the founding fathers fought for. Domestic surveillance should not be allowed because
September 11th 2001 was not only the day when the delicate facade of American security was shattered, but it was also the events of this day that led to the violation of the rights of millions of American citizens. After relentless reprehension by the American masses on the approach that was taken after the 9/11 attacks ,the Bush administration enacted the Patriot Act on October 26th, 2001, a mere 56 days after this tragic event.The Patriot Act expanded the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies so that they could hopefully avert future terrorist attacks. Under the Patriot Act The NSA (National Security Agency) could entrench upon the privacy of the citizens of the U.S. without public knowledge, consent or, probable cause. The particular incident which had the general public up at arms was when the NSA illicit surveillance came to public knowledge.
It is illegal to make privacy of one's life. Surveillance is a commonplace occurrence in the society today. It exists in every corner of a nation from the corner of streets to discussion topics in movies, lecture halls, theater arenas and books. The privacy word is mentioned many times till its losing taste of its meaning. Surveillance is the exercise of keeping a close watch on something, somebody or set of activities (Richards 56). Many people say that Surveillance is unscrupulous. Nonetheless, we mainly do not distinguish the reason. People only have vague intuition the fact, and this accounts the reason the courts of justice do not protect it or the victim of circumstance of such. We recognize we don’t like it, and by the virtue that it contains something too with privacy, but past that, the revelations can be ambiguous (Boghosian 67). We have been to stay in this state of operation substantially because of the threat of constant Surveillance has been consigned to the realms of scientific studies and fictional activities and moreover to unsuccessful authoritarian states. Nevertheless, these warnings are no longer fictions due to
The USA Patriot Act is very important to everyone in the United States of America. There are many people that are anti-patriot act because they feel it infringes on there constitutional rights. At the same time, there are enormous amounts of people that are pro-patriot act putting the safety of the home front as their number one priority. This act was very instrumental in giving our intelligence agencies the tools necessary to intercept terrorist messages and fore warn us of any possible attacks.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress sprang into action. Within a month, U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the USA Patriot Act of 2001, giving law enforcement and intelligence agent’s broader authority to fight terrorists operating in the United States.
After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, this country scrambled to take action to provide future protection. New techniques had to be developed to protect the nation from the menace of terrorism. Along with the new techniques came the decision to enact laws that some believed crossed the threshold of violating civil liberties this county and those living in it were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “On October 26, 2001, the Public Law 107-56, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, also known as the USA Patriot Act, was signed into effect” (Stern, 2004, p. 1112). While speaking to Congress, President George Bush stated, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorist” (Stern, 2004, p. 1114). Congress knew by signing the bill, they were expecting each American to give up a part of his or her guaranteed rights. Rights such as the right to privacy, free speech and the right to know when a citizen is being investigated by the government were just among a few. The act has been described as a “law enforcement wish list” (Stravelli, 2003, p. 1). The wish list allows law enforcement to “obtain people’s personal information and conduct surveillance, and in some cases impose secrecy on their law enforcement activities” (Update: USA Patriot Act, 2007, p. 1).
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
...our privacy in our homes, effects, paper, and activities, which is needed for an individual in their every day lives. It helps the law to put an end to criminal activities and to bring an end to the war on drugs and human smuggling, and many other serious crimes that happen every day in the United States. It also helps society to have peace of mind, knowing that they have the right to privacy in their own home, as long as the law is abided and the judicial system upholds the constitution, this right will always be aiding the fair and just side of the law side of the law. Society has the right to be protected from all criminal behavior, ever since the constitution was first created society has had this right, but the means used to restrict and control this criminal activity must be lawful and constitutional, and the fourth amendment helps us to guarantee this right!
In “Legal Alien,” poet Pat Mora explores the cultural tension present in the lives of Mexican Americans where the speaker in the poem describes a bicultural individual who is able to fluently speak both English and Spanish and who uses both languages in his/her everyday work and social life. The individual works a standard office job and frequently visits Mexican restaurants, but the individual has a difficult time being fully accepted by his/her community and Americans view the person as “exotic,” “inferior,” and “definitely different,” while Mexicans see the person as “alien,” an outsider and as a result, the individual becomes viewed by society as a token of the bicultural experience, only existing on the margins of both cultural worlds,
The sedition act of 1798 was a law that consist of people who opposed the government’s policy should be imprisonment and fined. The law was passed by congress and signed by John Adams in 1798, which consists of four series Alien Act, Alien enemies Act, Naturalization Act, and Sedition act. The Sedition act became the biggest reputation to the United States. The constitution ascertained the right to have freedom of speech, but the Sedition Act prosecutes those who voice against the government. The Sedition Act did not want Americans to do any false writing against the federal government. The first Amendments clarifies that congress has no right to make a law that will be established on religion or abridging the freedom
Along with Privacy and security comes the issue of terrorism, Constitutional rights, and Prisoners of War (POW). The privacy vs security debate has two sides to it. Many think that it has influenced governmental interaction with citizens. Sometimes the law focuses on the wrong interests. Just as security cameras are made for thief’s, there come along violations within a person’s workspace or personal life. Privacy emerged early on including Jewish and Roman laws safeguarding against surveillance. Once populations began to grow citizens around the world started filing complaints about noise and unlawful search and seizures. Security and Privacy become an internationally growing issue that affected the world. Security is known as a sort of Independence from danger. Privacy is a freedom from the Undesirable. “He noticed that the needle on his gas gauge was getting low and decides to pull over. As he walks into the gas station he pays for the gas with his credit card, steals a pack of cigarettes and a newspaper without the clerk knowing. B Horton proceeds out the doors and recognizes a security camera as he walks to his car. Later he is contacted and tried for theft. Some believe the camera was an invasion of his privacy but others say that Horton took from society” Webster 21) In America this was and still is a serious issue. The founders saw it coming and implanted laws against home invasions based on national security or to protect others. The fourth amendment in the Bill of Rights is one plan of action that the founding fathers implemented into the United States Constitution to give people a sense of privacy from law enforcement. Also the Fifth Amendment placed a specific procedure on how police go about arresting an individual. ...
Although the right to privacy has been used to sway the outcome of many U.S court cases, including the famous Supreme Court ruling of Roe vs. Wade, there is still some debate over how the “right to privacy” should be viewed. For example both Judith Jarvis Thompson, and James Rachels agree that the right to privacy is indeed a right that is bestowed upon citizens, however their perception of how one is granted this right is quite different.