The USA Patriot Acts Provisions - Essay Example

Running Head PATRIOT ACT PATRIOT ACT Patriot Act was signed in October 26, 2001. This Act was a response to terrorist attacks of September 11, and was aimed to encourage American citizens oppose terrorism and inspire their patriotic feelings. Thus, critics admit both advantages and disadvantages of this Act seeing it as unconstitutional and unlawful. By describing themselves as genuine Americans and by framing their claims on behalf of the nation or the people, President Bush attained a nationwide consensus and succeeded in portraying their opponents as an anti-national faction. The main advantages of the act are that it preserves liberties that the Constitution guarantees Americans, it guarantees safety against the enemy (terrorists); it helps people to overcome fear and terror inspiring their nationalist feelings and ideas. "The USA Patriot Act's provisions for certification and mandatory detention contravene the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process of law" (2002, p. 1419). Patriotism needs memories. They are a continuous source of inspiration and an invincible bastion: even the harshest oppression cannot deprive a people of its memories. The most precious memories are those of peoples who loved their country and their fellows with a noble love; not with national vain gloriousness or narrow parochialism. The idea of the Patriot Act is that parents must tell their children stories of patriotism not to nurture national pride but love of liberty (Cassella 2002). The Patriot Act is seen as an energetic resolve to resist oppression. Whether it comes from denial of political rights or from social oppression, exclusion is incompatible with the principle of the republic. Since it has to be a community sustained by bonds of fellowship and love, the state and the government must assure everyone the dignity that comes from citizenship and the respect and self-respect that education and labor assure. The Country is the idea which rises upon that foundation; it is the sentiment of love, the sense of fellowship which binds together all the sons of that territory. The Patriot act inspires true love for the Country. True love of country is an 'immense love' immune to prejudices and inspired by thoughts of unity and peace. It is a passion that animates and inflames generous souls who cannot stand their country's corruption and enslavement. While their fellows cry and suffer in silence, they speak up. They foresee their country's bleak future and share their fellows' needs, anxieties, and hopes. They do not share their vices and weaknesses. Like ancient prophets, they do not speak out of irrational fury or offended pride but out of indignation. They say unpleasant things to their fellows; they denounce their faults and enumerate their responsibilities to call them to action. Reproach is not intended to humiliate, nor to emphasize the patriot's moral superiority, but to elevate the soul of his own people, with which he wants to work (The USA-PATRIOT Act and the American Response 2002). The main disadvantages of the Patriot Act are privacy violations, surveillance and information sharing, increased Governmental Secrecy, not targeted on terrorism. "The USA PATRIOT Act contains a number of provisions that may be used by federal law enforcement authorities to seize and forfeit the assets of terrorist organizations, assets that are derived from terrorist acts, and assets that are intended to be used to commit terrorist acts in the future" (Cassella 2002, p. 7). To some extent, love of country presses us to feel the oppression that some of our fellows endure as an outrage. Oppression may take the form of the denial of civil and political rights or exploitation, brutality, contempt for human dignity in workplaces and social life; the victims may be adult, old or young, male or female; the patriot reacts with particular passion to the sufferings of his fellows: he feels not just compassion but indignation, and indignation gives him the motivation to change. Indignation against and hatred of the oppressor drive the patriot to action and to call on others to join the struggle. His commitment is a lasting one, since it is sustained by love of country, by love of common liberty, which is a charitable love of particular people who are different in several respects but are all compatriots and victims of oppression (The USA-PATRIOT Act and the American Response 2002). I suppose that the Patriot act is one of the main documents which help to unite the nation and protect innocent citizens from terrorist attacks and brutality. The role and duty of the government is to control information sharing and privacy issues. If a person has nothing to hide or keep secret, this Act will not violate his/her privacy and liberties. This Act vividly portrays that the ideal of a patriotism based on commitment to liberty beyond national barriers became the core of the nineteenth-century republican patriotism. To build a strong nation, it is not sufficient to appeal to the political values: one must incorporate them into a larger discourse that encompasses also the cultural values of the nation. The American nationalists' emphasis on national culture and on the spirit of the people should be found in their patriotism. "When the world we all knew came tumbling down with such well-known American symbols as the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, American reporters found it difficult to resist the chest-puffing patriotism that enveloped the nation" (Finnegan and Takooshian 2003, p. 1429). In sum, the Patriot Act marked a new era in formation of the nation and its uniquty. Because of his patriotism, the Act deserves to be recognized as a voice of the new epoch which has at last recognized the value of national cultures; but his recognition is incomplete and too narrow. Sensitivity toward national culture is a necessary precondition of it, but national culture has to be studied in the broader context of spiritual development toward liberty. To be able to understand one's own national values and the liberties of other peoples, the government must share a commitment to liberty and be immune from national vain gloriousness. The language of patriotism works as a powerful language of unity, and specifically of political unity. It helps to unite individuals who differ on social, cultural, and religious grounds in the common struggle and the extension of citizenship. It offers words and idioms that reshape people's passions; old hatreds are placated and, perhaps, even translated into temporary solidarity. References 1. Cassella, S.D. (2002). Forfeiture of Terrorist Assets under the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Law and Policy in International Business, 34 (1), 7. 2. Finnegan, L., Takooshian, H. (2003). The USA PATRIOT Act: Civil Liberties, the Media, and Public Opinion. Urban Law Journal, 30 (4), 1429. 3. The USA-PATRIOT Act and the American Response to Terror: Can We Protect Civil Liberties after September 11 (2002). American Criminal Law Review 39 (1), 92. 4. Sinnar, Sh. (2002). Patriotic or unconstitutional The mandatory detention of aliens under the USA Patriot Act. Stanford Law Review. 55 (4), 1419. Read More