Potential conflicts Essay Example for Free

Potential conflicts Essay Every State has three inherent powers which are all necessary and indispensable for its continued existence. These powers may exist even without an express constitutional grant. Among these powers are Police Power, Power of Eminent Domain, and the Power of Taxation On the other hand, citizens in a democracy enjoy certain rights and freedom. These rights serve as safeguard for the protection of the people against excessive and unnecessary exercise of these three powers mentioned. The beauty of a democracy lies in the proper balance between the civil rights and liberties of the people and the fundamental powers of the State. An over-concentration of power in the government will lead to dictatorship or authoritarianism. An over emphasis in freedom and liberty will result to anarchy and mob rule. Analysis of the USA Patriot Act Consider the enactment of the USA Patriot Act as our country’s response to international terrorism. Pres. Bush upon signing the Patriot Act into law emphasized that this law will provide law enforcement officials with sufficient weapons and tools to fight terrorism. â€Å"Remarks by President Bush at Signing of USA Patriot Act of 2001†) He emphasized that we need this law for the protection of our country and for our protection as well. Despite the highly publicized importance of the Patriot Act to protecting our national security and territory, civil rights advocates however fear that the said law may have severe repercussions to our individual liberties. This law which should protect us from terrorists may even be used against us. Some of the provisions of the said law will give the law enforcement authorities unlimited power to search our physical property and seize them, monitor our electronic communication and bank accounts, library records and even our medical records. Last January 2006, The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the American Civil Liberties Union joined together in calling for the amendment of Section 501 of the Patriot Act which gives sufficient authority for government officials to seize any â€Å"tangible things† (Jeanne Lenzer)  Under Section 501, â€Å"(a)(1) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the Director†¦may make an application for an order requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such investigation of a United States person is not con ducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. † (Sec 501) It is because of this reason that in a number of medical center’s privacy policy there is already a statement informing their patients that they are authorized to disclose any medical information about the patient to authorized federal officials. Personal information about our health conditions, our sickness, the doctor treating us, the medicines we are taking and any other personal information, which we consider as confidential may now be discovered by the government, placed in a database together with all other personal information taken from other people, and this information could be transferred from one government agency to another. Conclusion I am a Libertarian. I do not think we need to sacrifice our liberty for the purpose of protecting ourselves from terrorism. Our civil liberty, such as our right to privacy, is our treasured rights. For some that is all they have. If the government will take this away from them they will be worse than the terrorists. There is only one solution to this problem and that is for the public to call for the amendment of this provision so that section 501 may finally be deleted from the Patriot Act. Although the said provision may also be useful for any criminal investigation, I believe however, that no government official should be given unbridled discretion to seize our medical records. As a rule, seizure of medical records should not be allowed subject to certain exceptions such as if a suit has been filed against the person whose medical record is being seized or if the person is a suspected terrorist who has confirmed affiliations with terrorists organizations.