The War on Terror and the Erosion of Liberty Assignment

The War on Terror and the Erosion of Liberty - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that in the haste to safeguard citizens, laws were enacted and restrictions were imposed that have had a deep and lasting effect on our personal freedoms. Many people have criticized the government actions as too broad, too severe, and have characterized it as an over-reaction to a single event. Others, such as John Ashcroft, have labeled the critics as paranoids and said, "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty †¦ your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and †¦ give ammunition to America’s enemies". It is clear that we have reached a point where we must weigh the price of a security against the cost of our lost liberty. When we do, we find that the over-reaching policies of our anti-terrorist campaign have extracted too high a cost in lost liberty, freedom, and our national identity.  The loss of our liberty extends beyond the inconvenience of long lines at the airpo rt and reaches into our daily right to privacy. One of the fundamental principle that America is built upon is the expectation that our personal records and correspondence have sacred and legal protection against inspection without a warrant. However, the sweeping powers granted to the government in the wake of 9/11 have allowed the government to examine bank and phone records of every American citizen without probable cause. Meanwhile, the government is cloaked in ever greater secrecy as many more governmental meetings can be held in secret away from the press and the public (Chaddock). While it may seem that we only have something to worry about if we are engaged in illegal activity, the fact is that it opens the door for corruption and abuse. There is the potential that political enemies could examine bank records to find out who has contributed to a given charity or political cause. It could be used to examine a credit card record to trace a person's travel or spending habits. L iberty is only of value when we need it. Once surrendered there is no returning it to the safe state of affairs that the right to privacy gives us.