The government is watching us in a way our forefathers never intended.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration disagrees with the founding father quoted above. They have no problem sacrificing liberty in an attempt to gain a bit of safety. Since Sept. 11, 2001, our Constitutional rights have slowly but surely been disappearing. Now, with the advent of the National Security Agency’s wiretapping, the government has gone too far.

Following the World Trade Center attack, President Bush issued an executive order allowing the NSA to conduct electronic surveillance of international communication. They can listen in on any person in the United States suspected of having connections with terrorist organizations. However, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 bars electronic surveillance of people within the United States without approval by the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The Administration is clearly violating this act.

In addition to violating the FISA, government wiretapping tramples upon our First Amendment rights. Specifically, it undermines the part of the US Constitution that states the government shall not “[abridge] the freedom of speech.” Some people may shrug wiretapping off as no big deal. They say if you have not done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

But this is not true. We do not know what the government is listening for when they record our phone conversations. How do I know I will not be put on some kind of watch list for criticizing Bush’s latest appointees while chatting with my mom on my cell phone? With the fear of the government listening to our phone calls, we cannot speak freely.

The act of conducting unwarranted surveillance of communication is also a violation of 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.” How can we feel safe and secure in our own homes when the possibility of the government spying on us is hanging over our heads?

In our culture, we typically have few options when presented with a law with which we do not agree. We can bite our lip and take it, we can petition to have the law changed or we can move. It is rather impractical for the whole country to up and leave, so the third option is out. I prefer the second option – trying to change the unjust law.

However, the law that allows the government to spy on us is classified. We do not know what it states. Consequently, you could be doing something illegal right now and not know it. For all I know, it may be illegal to write a column about NSA wiretapping. I could be compromising national security and not even know it. This Orwellian secrecy should not stand in the land of the free.