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From the Director:
After the terrorist attacks on our country, I, along with most other Americans, were willing to accept the recommendations of those in charge of our national security. The Patriot Act breezed through Congress and was put into effect before anyone really knew what was in it. After hearing that the majority of lawmakers who signed the Patriot Act had not even read it, I downloaded the entire document with the intent to see for myself what Congress had passed into law. At over 300 pages, H.R. 3162 is a massive document, but it was the title page that first confirmed my concern:
“An act to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigative tools, and for other purposes.”
No one in their right mind would sign a contract or any other legal document with such a glaring loophole, so how could our government be so lax? I tried to read on, but the document makes constant references to language contained in other Acts and amendments, making it impossible to really know what is being said without a governmental library at hand. No wonder the lawmakers had no clue what they were signing.
It is not our intent to discredit the Act completely. We are definitely in favor of using every legal and constitutional means possible to safeguard the security of the free world. However, it is our intention to point out the fact that the language of the Patriot Act is loose at best and could be used to defend the actions of overzealous “patriots” intent on gathering information by whatever means possible.
As work on the project progressed, the daily news began to validate our ideas and concerns. Stories about wireless domestic phone tapping, secret prisons, and city streets blossoming with surveillance cameras became commonplace. Reality was so closely mimicking our script, we actually feared a real incident could easily break into the news before our fictional “what if” story could be told. Fortunately this hasn’t happened…That we know of.
“A Patriot Act” is a fictional representation of a possible reality. If actions are not taken to oversee the agencys involved, it may only be a matter of time before fiction becomes reality.
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