By Josh Weizel – Editorial Editor

The National Security Agency is an agency within the federal government that is responsible for collecting data on potential dangers to our national security. Between 2012 and 2013, there were huge leaks on the data the NSA was collecting. This has caused an enormous amount of controversy on how far as a society we should go in giving up our liberty for a little bit of security.

It’s time for American citizens to face the terrifying truth that we are living in a time period in which are leaders are indifferent to our constitutional rights and liberties. This can be shown as data is being collected on American citizens in violation of the Constitution. The hard truth is the National Security Agency is targeting many citizens without definite proof that these individuals are involved in terrorist activities and without a warrant to target them. According to an internal audit of the agency completed in 2012, there were 2,766 violations committed between 2011 and 2012. What does this mean? This means that every American, no matter if they are a terrorist threat or not, is being targeted illegally.

Most Americans don’t realize how serious it is that the National Security Agency is spying on us. What most Americans don’t realize is that in a time of great technological advance, our constitutional rights are becoming less respected. Proponents of NSA targeting will argue the agency only targets foreigners and Americans suspected of terrorist activity, but that statement is inaccurate. According to a four-month nonpartisan investigation by the Washington Post most of the data being collected is not from foreigners, and terrorists and most of the individuals being targeted are innocent American citizens. In fact 90 percent of the intercepted data is from ordinary American citizens. This is an outrageous abuse of our constitutional rights and liberties.  This is also an insult to every American soldier who has risked his life in the name of our constitutional rights and liberties. We are living in a technological age where it is easier for the government to violate our civil liberties because unlimited data can be looked up on any individual.

It’s time we ask ourselves if the NSA is really making us more secure. The truth is the National Security Agency is not making American citizens more secure because it is so focused on targeting individuals not involved in terrorist activity. According to a public policy group called The New American Foundation, the NSA is not only violating our sacred constitutional rights but is ineffective and does little in preventing terrorist attacks. NSA proponents make valid points that The National Security Agency is necessary in protecting our country from terrorist attacks, but what they fail to realize is there is no evidence that targeting by the NSA has made American citizens safer. What these individuals don’t realize is that The National Security Agency can target people in a more direct and transparent way so the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans are protected.

The most disturbing part about the NSA targeting is the agency does not even have to alert citizens about when they are collecting data. Is it unreasonable to expect that the National Security Agency alert citizens when they’re collecting data on them? What many individuals don’t realize is the fact that the founding fathers wrote the Bills of Rights to protect us from a tyrannical government that would abuse its power. The Fourth Amendment states that Americans shall be protected against unreasonable searches and seizures, and when Americans are being targeted in a broad way this, the government is violating their Fourth Amendment rights. Although the National Security Agency may have good intentions in protecting our security there are politicians with ulterior motives who could abuse the powers of the agency. Who is to say that someone on the extreme right or the extreme left will not come to power someday and use the agency against their political enemies?

The U.S. Freedom Act which was voted on November 18 goes a long way in reforming the agency by ending mass collection of data. Unfortunately reforms did not go far enough in preserving our constitutional liberties because the U.S. Freedom Act would not end collections of the content of phone calls. Conservatives on the far right and progressives on the far left have one thing in common, which is they believe in control and that having a perfect Utopia is more important than our constitutional liberties. Progressives will stop at nothing to have an environmentalist Utopia even if it means giving up essential liberties for security and conservatives on the far right will stop at nothing to have a completely secure state free of terrorism even it means we give up our constitutional rights.

The truth is politicians with both extremist ideologies favor government control and statism in their own way. It’s time we stop electing politicians who disrespect the constitution and the bill of rights and it is time we start electing politicians who respect our freedoms and liberties. As Benjamin Franklin said, “a society that sacrifices security for liberty gets neither and deserves neither.” It is time that as Americans we stand up for a transparent government and a government that respects our rights as individuals.

(Some information courtesy offnow.org, washingtonpost.com, bloomberg.com)