Veronica Velasco

American Government

Dec. 11, 2017

Freedom v. Security

The most debated topic in American, is whether to have more security or freedom. Either

you give up some of your rights and privileges to be well protected or decided to live in a free

society full of danger. Give up some rights to gain protection or live a life with no boundries.

Choose to live in fear or in security. Of course giving up rights and privacy may seem a little

extreme but dont we give that up already? Feeling safe always came at a cost. It seems as

though the Government only takes action to make America safe after a terrible event has

happened. We can prevent these moments by simply increasing or security. It may seem like less

freedom, but feeling safe always comes with a cost. Security from the government comes in

many types of form. Some examples are the police force, homeland security, NSA, and even our

army. Each playing a part to protecting this country. But that doesn't mean these departments

don't have cracks in them. They need improvement. That's why increasing or security would be

the best option. From better training to communicating to the people why security is important.

No one should feel afraid from the people who are protecting us. It may sound troubling that the

government has the power to enter our personal lives. From tapping into our phones and going

through our emails but this is the cost of feeling safe. But these methods could use some

improvements. A balance between our privacy and catching the the terrorist. We are constantly

being monitored regardless why not add more precautions to keep America safe.

On September 11th, 2001, an attack was made on The United States of America.

Nineteen terrorists boarded and hijacked four passenger airlines, and used them as weapons
against buildings in New York and Washington D.C. The fourth plane was brought down in rural

Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 lives were lost in these attacks, and many more were ruined by the loss

of family, friends, and coworkers.1 To prevent a reoccurrence of the events of 9/11, security

policies have been changed, new measures taken, and national awareness heightened. However,

new security measures have a tendency to take away some of our civil liberties as citizens of a

democracy. Some say individual freedoms can be sacrificed for the sake of safety. I agree with

those who support heightened security, despite some of the restraints that may be placed on

certain liberties. Who would've thought that getting on a plane would be so scary now. Although

Airports have tighten their security there are many loopholes in the system. Airports should have

the right to search peoples belonging, I wouldnt want to get in a plane in which I feel unsafe.

There has been around 307 mass shooting in 2017 according to the nonprofit Gun

Violence Archive. Causing around 30,000 injuries and more than 14,000 deaths.2 This is

happening everywhere from concerts to schools, to even churches. Yet we want to insist on our

2nd amendment right. The second amendment gives us the right to bear arms, but not only that

but it gives those who want to harm the chance to get their hands on weapons. There should be a

limit to those who choose to buy weapons, you should be more than qualified for that type of

responsibility. An example of this would be the mass shooting in Las Vegas a gunman was able

to carry at least 23 firearms into a hotel room where he shot and killed 59 people, and injured

over 500.3 People who were innocent and enjoying their life. People who were innocent and

1
History.com Staff. "9/11 Attacks." History.com. 2010. Accessed December 10, 2017.
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.
2
Gould, Melia Robinson and Skye. "There have been 307 mass shootings in the US so far in 2017 - here's the full list."
Business Insider. November 06, 2017. Accessed December 10, 2017. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-
mass-shootings-in-america-las-vegas-shooting-2017-10.

3
Times, The New York. "Multiple Weapons Found in Las Vegas Gunmans Hotel Room." The New York Times.
October 02, 2017. Accessed December 10, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting.html.
enjoying their life. Yet people think we shouldnt have gun control? Who needs 23 firearms?

What hotel lets a person with that many guns walk right in?

Another example is the orlando shooting where gunman shot and killed 49 people at a

nightclub. He walked into a club with a weapon and killed many innocent lives. He pledged his

alliance with ISIS, making it a terrorists attack. Which is why I believe the government should be

able to monitor our actions more. The Fourth Amendment ensures "the right of the people to be

secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

But maybe if they had waived this right many of incidents would have been prevented due to the

government knowing exactly what is going on. Of course not everyone would be searched. Only

those with a high risk. I mean if we are being completely honest arent most of our accounts

already being watched.

Shootings at schools are the worst in my opinion how can someone walk onto a campus

with a weapon and kills innocent children. There are some schools that have metal detectors,

where students have to be patted down. I would rather have my child go to a school in which I

know he/she is well protected rather than live in fear on if anything will happen to them. On

December 14, 2012, twenty children and six adults were killed by a 20 year old gunman, at an

elementary school with about 700 students. Although the school did have safety precautions,

where a visitor had to ring a doorbell at the front before entering. Where was a security guard?

The gunman walked in and killed innocent children. Not only this incident but there has been kid

taking weapons to school. Students have been caught with guns about 269 times a year. Where

do these students get these guns from their parents. Parents need to be more careful with their

kids. Not only that but there is no reason to have a gun at home where theyre children. There
should be more gun control. Nobody needs to have guns, they are dangerous and cause many

deaths in todays society.

Another big issue in America is drug cartels bringing in illegal drugs into America. The

way to solve this issue is by providing better board patrol. Drug trafficking is a worldwide yet it

is a big problem in America. Although they have increased the amount the amount of border

patrol around the U.S. Drug traffickers have found different ways to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

They use people to carry drugs inside them, not only that sometimes they do it by just using the

inside of cars. In that sense people should be checked so they don't have any drugs on them.

They should be able to search your car sometimes with no explanation. If you dont have

anything to hide then you should be afraid to be searched.

One of the biggest issue in America today is terrorist attacks. Freedom comes with a risk.

Western Europe and the United States have been hit repeatedly. If there was more security

around these countries it would such a better place to live. One of the organizations causing a lot

of pain and destruction is ISIS. ISIS is a group that began in 2004 as al Qaeda in Iraq. It is a

group that has caused many devastations in America. From bombings in the Boston Marathon to

the timing in concerts causing many deaths and taking the lives of many innocent people.

Although our government is taking well precautions to try and keep our country safe there is

many more it could do. Although many of us wouldnt want our phone tampered with it is to

keep everyone safe.

Another problem in today's society is cyber hackers. With technology advancing so much

now our government has become more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Just recently there has been a

breach at the National Security Agency (NSA). It was reportedly hacked by a group called

Shadow Brokers who somehow obtained many hacking tools to release information on NSA
cyber weapons since August 2016. These tools are reportedly tools to collect intelligence on

other countries to protect our own. This comes to show how vulnerable the U.S is to attacks. Our

government should be watching other countries for attacks.

Many may argue that some of our rights will be abused by adding more security. There

should be more protection. Our country should feel like a safe place to live. We shouldn't go out

wondering whether or not today is the last day we live. Of course we wouldnt go to the extreme

of closing everyone out, but there should be stricter guidelines.