Patriotic Duty

After 9/11, the perceptions of the world were challenged. More specifically, religious beliefs became the prime way for many people to characterize others. In the USA, as much as the people tried to band together as Americans, underlying personal opinion and scrutiny of others seemed to overshadow the greater good. Suddenly it was suspicious to be connected in any way to Islam and the Western world took full advantage of people's mindset at that time to instigate these suspicions based on fear.
Remember the infamous Bush speech where he declared America's stance on terrorim? "You're either with us or against us." Seven words that instilled patriotism in the American population but in some way seemed to insult other nations against using war as a solution. Canada seemed to be undecided - of course we were against terrorism but could we possibly back up that belief with war? In the end, Canada decided to fight the good fight, taking up the responsibility of ensuring freedom in war torn areas (i.e. Afghanistan) for the greater good of all people, especially the locals.

As the years passed by and the war continued, momentum seemed to get easily displaced. Irked by the inability to find the most hunted man and the continuing attacks on American holdings, more had to be done. Enter the Patriot Act.
Although many people may think this is an imposition of freedom, I think the intention was to be safe rather than sorry. Yes, it's true that random security checks by authoritative figures can seem to be targeted, but what's the alternative by comparison? Not to take these precautions and regret it? I do not think that's an option. Yes, the world changed but again, we were told 'not to let fear control our lives' and 'live life like we normally would' but without these precautions being put into place, that would not be realistic after the attacks of 9/11.

I don’t believe that individual privacy should be compromised for behaviour that is mistaken for patriotic duty but in order to move ahead and abolish these threats, that fine line may at times be trampled upon for the greater good. Jeremy Bentham’s work famously refers to a Utopian lifestyle as beneficial to society as a whole even when in some cases it is not that way for some individuals. I think if we looked at acts like these from that perspective, it may be easier to see why they are in place today.

--Kelly Ragoobar