The Patriot Act

As much controversy as the Patriot Act has caused, reading the excerpt of USA Patriot Act: How to be Response Ready by Nicole Rivard and The Patriot Act Under Fire by John Yoo and Eric Posner made me realize how little I actually understood the logistics of the Act. First of all, I had no idea that USA Patriot Act is in fact an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The title is disturbing to me on two levels: first, it asserts that one is not a patriot if one does not support the Act; secondly, the acronym itself is reminiscent of the words of the government in V for Vendetta. It cites Unity and Strength as the two main goals of the document, and employs the concept of "rule by fear" by reminding the public of the threat of terrorism.
I was very interested in the class discussion because it embodied my own inner conflicts about the Patriot Act. While I am usually very in favor of supporting the principles of freedom and that the purpose of government is to safeguard the rights of individuals, for whatever reason I did not find this anger in my gut that is so often associated with the Patriot Act. I did not find myself deeply offended by this concept of our government's practically unlimited access to our personal information. In theory, I am strongly opposed to this Act yet my emotional reaction was not as strong as I had anticipated. I am not a terrorist. I do not care if a suited man in Washington knows what brand of shampoo I buy or what movies I rent from Netflix. I do not support terrorism. In theory I am willing to help protect this nation from it by any means necessary.
^ There it is. That's when I realized what I find wrong with the Patriot Act. "By any means necessary." If we allow our government to use the threat of terrorism as a justification for limiting our individual liberties, what will be the next excuse? We need to be worried about this Act because it is a significant step in the wrong direction. This government was created with the expressed purpose of protecting our rights as individuals, and this Act is in blatant opposition to that goal.