I Am A Muslim, And I Love The NSA

To start off, my dad’s name is Muhammad, my brother's name is Muhammad, even my middle name is Muhammad. So as you kind of figured, I am a Muslim in some shape or form, and I can guarantee you that my phone or any of my email accounts have been tapped or hacked numerous times in the past, and I will even go as far as saying it might even be a weekly thing. Even this past August when me and my family were coming back to America after a flight from Qatar, the TSA pulled over my dad for the second time in less than a five year span (the first time being in 2009 when he was coming back from the Hajj) in order to conduct a “random screening”. This caused a two hour delay, making us miss our flight back to Atlanta, so instead we had to wait at Chicago’s O’Hare for another five hours to catch a later flight. Inconvenience? Yeah. Stereotyping? Just a little. Were we mad? Far from it. We actually had a great laugh about this whole situation. My dad even asked if he was being pulled over because they thought he was a terrorist. The TSA officer had no comment.

Situations like this often define organizations such as the NSA and TSA. Spying, wiretapping, or various other methods are often frowned upon and criticized as being extreme ways of national security. But the most important thing that people forget about is that these are SECURITY AGENCIES. They were designed to protect us and eliminate any underlying threat for the welfare of this country. And to those people who have just recently expressed their dislike for the NSA, TSA, as well as any other security agencies, please take the following picture under strong consideration.

Although I strongly disapprove, I don’t blame people for their sudden dislike in the NSA. I blame this guy.

For those who may have forgotten or having been living under a rock for the past year, that face is of the now well known whistle-blower and self proclaimed “patriot” Edward Snowden. Although my definition of a patriot is someone who fights for their country, not someone who rats out his own country, plays an international game of cat and mouse, and rides horses in the Siberian Tundra with a Soviet Dictator. Just saying.

Just as Professor Xavier was hinting at, this sudden outrage of the NSA and its policies is very sudden and unnecessary, as that they have been spying on people for years without any backlash up until now. Although the NSA existed long before the Patriot Act, it wasn't until its approval did the modern day tactics come into play. The Patriot Act is an act passed by Congress and later signed into law by Bush in 2001, that was a direct result of the 9/11 tragedy. Just as the ten-letter acronym says, the Patriot Act was established in order for Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT).

When proposed/passed back in 2001, this act had overwhelming support backed by both a majority of the Democrats as well as Republicans. Not to mention a vast outpour of support from the the public. I know, our nation was still reeling in the aftermath of 9/11, so things passed might have been out of anger or fear or both, but even after all this new layer of security, ask yourself, do you feel safer? If you answered yes, then the NSA,TSA, even the USA are doing its job. It’s sad that we live in a world where some groups of people hate other groups of people, and as a result, events like 9/11 happen. But it’s our job, specifically our government's job to protect its citizens and to make sure they take every measure and use every tool necessary in order to intercept and obstruct terrorism. See what I did there? For those who say that the NSA has gone from the necessary to the unnecessary, I say to those people, if you give up freedom for security, you deserve neither.

NSA: Never Start Apologizing

As Billy watches “Nightly News with Brian Williams” and sees, yet another swarm of outrage, with alleged allegations of the government spying on its allies, he, too, becomes overwhelmed with anger towards the persons of office. He ponders, “If the NSA can snoop in on other countries, I’m sure they've been spying on citizens of this country!” Billy’s hypothesis is correct. The National Security Agency, AKA NSA, does have records of phone calls, emails, tweets, and other electronic personal information from some Americans, regardless if the citizens set their information to be private. It’s under the branch of the military, thus its members’ job is to protect the nation’s security. If they feel anyone’s a threat, they will pursue any information about that individual. Yet, some would say how can you protect security when you’re looking at everyone’s business?   

 How do I feel about the NSA’s spying? Honestly, is this really surprising information? It’s certainly not for me. We have to remember twelve years and two months ago America entered the age of the fight on terror. The result: two wars (one we’re still fighting) and increased transportation security (especially in airports). Wouldn't you expect for the government to check if any of their allies or citizens was a part of a terrorist organization, like Al-Quaeda? Even looking past 9-11, we have to consider both world wars and the Cold War. The United States had some legitimate reasoning behind snooping around.  Anyone could be a threat for America. Of course, one could view this form of spying to be extreme, but “it’s for the safety of citizens,” the NSA would argue.

However, the bigger issue of this topic is actually not about the NSA itself. It’s about privacy. As Billy huffs and puffs about what he just saw on the news, he takes his frustration straight towards the internet, like any responsible, modern American citizen. Every video, comment, tweet, blog, and article pertaining the NSA/government-spying he found available, Billy typed away his two-cents. Six weeks later, Billy is surprised he was fired from his job as an attorney for Department of Homeland Security.  How can you expect the NSA to mind their business when you put all of your own business out in the open where anyone can see it? Also, do people actually believe that the only ones who dig into people’s personal information is the NSA? Ever heard of Google? Any large company or organization with access to personal accounts could obtain private information. Disregarding big businesses, what about your next-door-neighbor? Anyone with the intelligence of code-breaking could recover emails and phone calls. Even one’s tech-savvy grandma could discover their thought-to-be-deleted nude photos on the internet. What the NSA is doing is not unique; it just has the authority to do so. Hence, if you don’t like the notion of someone going through your “private” information online, then don’t put it online.

Surprisingly, there is even a bigger issue than privacy: the government. To sum up what I feel about the government’s part of this issue is in nine words: There is no such thing as a true democracy. If the government wants to look through your information, they have every right to do so. Do you really believe that law makers follow the constitution thoroughly? Popes and bishops can’t even follow the Bible. Having the Bill of Rights looks good on a document, but doesn't feel good to actually follow its principles as a politician of either party. It is virtually impossible for American citizens to have full privacy and full access of freedom of speech; the U.S. government views any non-democratic/non-English speaking/non-football-loving individual as a threat, and, again, anybody could fall under that category. The NSA is simply doing what the entire government wants them to do, and the organization will continue to do, regardless of how the world feels about it.

            Note: To not seem like a threat myself, I’m not anti-American. I know other countries spy on each other as well. Spying has been done probably before Columbus set his dirty foot in the Caribbean. However, I just feel for the United Sates to set an example, especially since America took the title of being “big brother” for the world, they shouldn't be hypocrites by expecting other countries not to spy, while the NSA exists. 

Can you take what you dish out?

    Whether we like it or not our society accepts spying on others with/without there consent. We have multiple reality shows with this theme. Cheaters, Candid Camera, Hell Date, What would you do? and many more using hidden cameras to record people doing some intimate or embarrassing things. So of course it would only make sense that we in our own lives have a real agency not a TV show spying on us in a way. The difference is one aim is for ratings and the other is for the protection of others.

    I must admit my stance on this subject in the beginning was like most. I thought it was unethical and morally wrong for anyone even with my well being in mind to spy on me. That it was a total invasion of my privacy. But now I think that when we complain about this agency we're just being hypocrites. We take pleasure in watching other people's lives (some knowing and most not knowing) on an everyday basis whether it is a well known celebrity, a politician, or just a random person on a new hit reality TV show. But when we realize that the shoe is on the other foot we instantly become the model citizen that believes that this is morally wrong and want change.

  Sure the NSA (National Security Agency) shocked us all when we found out that  with the help of AT&T and other companies that they were collecting our phone and internet records. But you can look at that issue from 3 perspectives:

1. If your not doing anything then you have nothing to worry about. Why stress about them having access to your information if the information you have is safe and nine times out of ten not as interesting or important as you think.                                                              
 2. If they don't check everyone how would you know until it's too late.  How many terrorist have we seen that "just looked like" a terrorist? None. So if by having certain records they can prevent an event early on so be it.
                             

 3. Invasion of Privacy. This is also as true as the other. Yes in the records they collect there are some intimate and personal material that will be in there. It is constitutionally illegal by the 4th Amendment.    
     
   This issue is really depending on your perspective. I'm OK with what they are doing as long as my safety is the motive and as long as it doesn't go too far. Which brings another question what does it take for it to be too far? And when will we know before its too late? That is the main issue at hand. But that is for another discussion. Take this moment to really understand why you feel the way you feel. Are you just mad because now your the one under the microscope? Or do you truly want to protect the rights of yours and others?              

Letter from the NSA

Dear US Citizen:

Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconveniences and problems the secret monitoring of your phone records, e-mail, GPS coordinates, travel locations, monetary transactions and your Holiday post cards has caused you. Please do not think of this as invading your privacy rather think of it as a three way phone call. We here at the NSA pride our selves on the most devious methods to keep you oblivious to our actions. Over the years our jobs have been completely strained with the new and more evolved whistle blowers it seems as though almost everyone at the NSA wants to violate their confidentiality agreement even though they signed it in clear red Crayola. Though the NSA will not name any names, an Eddy Snow may have leaked out thousands upon thousands of our private information. Please disregard all that he leaked out for those were one of our super top secret methods of testing the morality of our employees. Here at the NSA we require the most ruthless, ill moral, and kitten punching employees possible. The reason for finding such archetypical Americans is quite simple. Who else can spend hours maybe even days sifting through Instagram pictures of food, Facebook posts of how sad you are that Becca likes Bobby, or even the plethora of Twitter hash tags. I mean can you imagine the pain you put us through. I mean screw decoding the identity of the Zodiac killer call in the experts to find out what #YOLO #SWAG #ALLDAYEVRYDAY #APCALC #HAVNOLIFE mean and what Al Qaeda has to do with it. So please America look at it from our point of view thanks to disgruntled employees like eddy snow, now we have to actually pay attention before we get our cut of tax payers money. Also please do not think this is personal and that we are just hatting on certain families based on common stereotypes. Just because your name has more syllables than a certain Mary Poppins song does not mean we look at you any different. In fact for those special few that we do not even want to try pronouncing your name we actually watch you closer to protect you from the evil that is Al Qaeda. At the NSA’s inception we made it our primary goal that rather than just picking out certain groups of people we should just listen in on everyone. That way we all could sleep at night knowing we are not being racially inclined towards any group of people. At the end of the day if you thought this whole time that you were not being watched by the government then you must be more oblivious than we thought. Now that you understand our perspective please do not let a disgruntled employee who ran to the commies hinder our relationship. As a token of our everlasting friendship every American is getting three free months of Showtime or Cinemax. If you have any further questions regarding the purpose of our government agency feel free just to pick up the closest phone and ask. For here at the NSA our customer service motto is you speak we listen.

Sincerely,

NSA 

You Were NEVER Alone

      Have you ever had an annoying cockroach that appeared, crawled around the room, and then just disappeared? It vanishes into corners and cracks going unnoticed for days and days. The cockroach makes your home their home. The NSA is kind of like that cockroach. They hide undetected behind your technology and updated softwares feeding off of the data and information they receive. They make your home their home by lurking and monitoring your actions and speech. The NSA has kept their private eye on us for years now, and they probably do not plan on stopping. They just spend their time lurking and taking information from oblivious individuals. The reasoning behind their secretive behavior has been justified, but is it right?

             The NSA's main goal for years now has been to secretly and sufficiently receive data from foreign countries and even on our own soil. They say it is for the protection and well-being of our nation and all the citizens who live on this land. Even though their purpose behind their snooping seems legit, their infatuation with every little detail in the American people's lives has appeared to go too far. Nothing is private or personal anymore which plainly does not abide by the Fourth Amendment which states:  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." (Constitution)

Unfortunately the National Security Agency fail to realize this. Their actions have been deemed constitutional and permissible but not by the people who are truly being tracked down. Social media  and telephone calls do not feel like enjoyable leisure activities knowing that little NSA minions are listening and recording everything you say.

             The lack of privacy allowed to the American people brings on the vibe that the idea of protecting our nation and all of its people is just an excuse to receive permission to tap our phones and hack our social media accounts. The NSA say they are guarding us from potential danger but why do that when you are prohibiting us of our constitutional rights. Some may argue and say that the NSA are doing what is right by monitoring the "patriotic" citizens with  agendas to come against our nation. Ask yourself this then , " Do you like the idea of going through your whole life with the eyes of the government staring into your life?" What you thought no one knew, they know. What you thought no one heard, they heard. What you thought no one saw, they saw. It is understandable that they are for our own protection but at what point does it seem like the power of the NSA over our personal lives has become to strong? Should they be monitored as much as they monitor us?

Not Just Surveilance

  

     What if I were to tell you that every text, call, Facebook post, tweet, email, or other form electronic message you send is being collected, read/listened to, and analyzed. What if i went on to tell you that this has been going on for probably as long as you've been using these electronic messages. Your first reaction is probably that the proper authorities need to be contacted. But, what if these authorities are the ones doing the spying? Well, this is no longer the cry of your creepy uncle who posts a few too many Facebook statuses a day.

     For more than a decade the governments security agency, the NSA, has been partaking in this massive operation to collect and analyze electronic messages sent both domestically and internationally.  This is a blatant infringement upon rights guaranteed to United State citizens as outlined in the fourth amendment which protects United States citizens from improper intrusion into their lives from the government. while at the moment this is certainly an injustice, many find it to be an unavoidable evil, citing the protective benefits outweighing the violation of our rights. But if violations such as this are allowed, at what point will these violations cease? effectively, by allowing our right to be violated on a minor scale, the United State's populace is giving the go ahead for further intrusion and rights violations. It is a very slippery slope when a populace's apathy leads to inaction at blatant intrusions upon the quality of their own lives. 

     It is understandable that some would argue that the good of the NSA's spying outweighs the negative, citing protection from terrorist attacks and other forms of harm being more important than protecting what we say and do in private. While it is important to ensure national security, a nation built upon "freedoms" should not turn around and strip its people of those freedoms. It is possible to both provide security and ensure that citizens rights our not infringed upon. 

     It is critical that citizens break the shackles of apathy and further research the actions of the NSA, as well as the implications of these actions, for themselves and see the breadth of the situation. In a world where electronic communication and use of the internet are standard procedure, personal privacy while using these applications is invaluable.

Go away Spies! Then again, stay. But then again, GO AWAY!

The National Security Administration (NSA) has been taking a big hit because a large amount of people do not like the fact that they are being spied on. On January 1, 2006, President Bush described the NSA as a “limited program” designed to prevent attacks to the United States of America. I like to hear that but I really wonder if that is the only thing they are doing. There are also multiple government cameras that are around us and it follows everything that we do daily.

In an article by John Stossel, a lady by the name of Ginger McCall made an interesting good point. She insists that the cameras signal that the NSA has crossed the line. She said, “"These cameras reveal very private information — where you go, who you go there with," she said. They can record you going into the sex therapist's office, the gay bar, the abortion clinic, any number of places that you would probably not want other people to know that you're going . . .” For people who do these things, it can be a problem.  While there are cons for the NSA spying on us, there are also pros. I also read an article that said that New York City has 3,000 government cameras around while London has approximately 500,000 gov’t security cameras. They say that these cameras are supposed to track down the terrorists and lower crime. This may be the case because security cameras helped identify the suspects for the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this year in April. Although this may be true, I am still not 100% down with the government cameras spying on us daily.

In 2013, President Obama has stated that nobody is listening to our phone calls, but I know the NSA tracks our cell phones and emails. Well, I believe that there is a pro about this as well as a con. The con is of course that they are not giving us any privacy as a U.S. citizen. I was just reading an article today that said “Supreme Court allows NSA to continue looking at telephone records for now”. I, myself, personally am not really bothered by the tracking of the telephone records either. The pro of tracking the telephone records are indeed to track down terrorist attacks and to make sure that the U.S. is safe. I am not arguing that point because that is most likely true.

Lately the problem has not been these things, but it has been the NSA spying on other countries. They say the NSA has been spying on multiple world leaders and countries have been complaining about it.  I understand that the NSA is trying to make that the country remain safe, but the NSA shouldn’t be spying on them. I think we break the privacy rules by doing that. The U.S. is probably losing trust from other countries by spying. In conclusion, the NSA should stop spying on countries because it could possibly threaten our relationship with those countries .

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/18/supreme-court-allows-nsa-telephone-surveillance-to-continue/