BY GABRIEL ALVARADO

On a daily basis, people communicate, whether this communicating is through social media, text messaging, phone calls, or in person. Most of these conversations are thought to be in privacy, but they are not. A lot of what people do is sadly not in privacy. For any little thing done, the government has its ears and hands all over it. Privacy to people nowadays includes the government. Over the years, the rules on privacy have reduced so much that even police departments do not need consent to monitor phone records or texts. By law, many of these departments would require consent and approval to do so, but nowadays this does not seem to be a requirement.

So many people would argue the fact that this is wrong on the government’s part to interfere with people’s everyday freedom and privacy. To an extent, I completely agree: everyone deserves their privacy and protection and if the government is going to go against this, then there should be major repercussions. Every citizen has the potential to be something bad, but this does not mean they are. Everyone has the right to pursue happiness and not have it hindered or slowed because the government deems otherwise.

On the contrary, so many negative things have occurred that the government would have to change and evolve. The government is for the people and by the people, so if the people are acting in a negative way, then it’s no wonder the government is going to have to adapt to the people. In a way, the government is a reflection of what society is, and society is not looking very good at the moment. Compared to previous years, many would say it has gotten worse. Society has not been completely innocent, so it’s no wonder the government has to spy and break rules. There are many bad people out there and so many things have occurred and been done resulting in an increase in public awareness and safety.

I am completely against losing freedom and privacy, but to a certain extent I can understand. In a way, the government has a job to do in protecting many innocent Americans, and sadly one way to do that is to get information when no one is looking. So many things occur under the rug that I cannot blame the government for having to bend a few rules to ensure safety and protection of our people. Yes, some may go too far on innocent people, but ultimately there is a reason for others.

Just as long as no rights are being taken away, then we as citizens should be fine. The moment rights are taken away and abused, then everyone has a right to protest and fight for them. In all honesty, some people are not good citizens and do not deserve to have many rights. If rules are going to be broken, at least make sure there is a good enough reason. In my eyes, public safety and anti-terrorism are two solid reasons.