WJ #9- Research Paper Response

            With my topic pertaining to the Patriot Act, the question that I propose to answer for my paper is how the enactment of the Patriot Act has affected U.S. citizens.  That is the question I am working with now but I could tweak it as I continue to write my research paper.  The thesis statement that I came up with is….After the September 11^th, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government decided to implement the Patriot Act to protect citizens from foreign and domestic threats.  This could change but this is what I developed for my first idea.  I chose this topic because I think the Patriot Act is a controversial, yet interesting issue since it gives the federal government permission to enhance surveillance such as wiretapping cell phones, looking through medical records, and performing unconstitutional searches.  All 3 of these forms of action by the government have caused much discomfort between citizens, pleading that they think it’s an invasion of privacy.  The Patriot Act is actually an acronym that stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”  It is an act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush and is set to expire May of this year after a 90-day extension in February.  This is some of the background information that I have learned about this topic in my Law & Society class.

            One thing I would like to find out about this issue is the impact the Patriot Act has had on our country and its citizens.  I think it would be important to know if law enforcement agencies are accused of terrorist and racial profiling by people deemed suspicious because that can cause much controversy especially if you’re an innocent person.  This can be a major problem in big cities such as New York because of the prevalent number of minorities inhabiting it.  In addition to the impact it has had on Americans, I am also interested in the process the government and law enforcement agencies go through in performing surveillance tactics such as interceptions and wiretapping.  Since it is a controversial issue, many arguments are created.  For instance, the opposition mainly believes it intervenes with privacy and takes away the freedoms of being an American citizen.  Another argument is that the Patriot Act was created during a time of unreasonable decisions.  It’s important to have research to back up what you’re talking about.  So far I have taken the time to read through three scholarly journals that my professor suggested me to look at.  I thank him because I found some interesting and important information while reading articles in the journals, which I can use for my research paper.  Other sources include the magazine article, “The American Chronicle” and two textbooks.  I will continue to research information on this topic in attempt to enhance my knowledge and therefore create an effective research paper.