Government Surveillance and the Right to Privacy discussion
Humanities
Paper #1: Government Surveillance and the Right to Privacy
This is the grading rubric for Paper #1. Please review this file prior to writing your essay. The Rubric lays out the information that needs to be included in the paper.
In recent years, the topic of government surveillance has become more prominent in American political discourse. Government surveillance raises important questions regarding citizen’s right to privacy and about how far people are willing to trade their rights for additional security. For this paper, watch the video at the following link and then answer the questions listed below:
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365251169/
Questions for the paper:
1. What is the constitutional foundation for the right or privacy? (refer to the Civil Liberties chapter in Module 4)
2. Do you believe that there is a right to privacy? Do you agree with the what the Supreme Court has said about privacy?
3. Edward Snowden is a controversial figure. Some believe he is a heroic whistleblower who has exposed how the government has infringed on people’s rights. Others believe he is a traitor that has hurt the government’s ability to protect its citizens. Which of these two sides do you think is more accurate? In answering this, discuss how much liberty we as a society should be willing to give up in order to feel better protected from international threats?
Another source that may be helpful in doing this paper: https://www.propublica.org/article/nsa-data-collection-faq
Also, feel free to google topics such as “government surveillance” and “right to privacy” and “Griswold v. Connecticut for additional sources.
Papers should aim to be somewhere between 3 to 5 pages (though the most important thing is that all questions are answered in a complete and clear manner). Please use double-spacing and default margins.
-. Please cite sources in-text and provide a list of references used at the end of the paper. I do not require the use of any specific citation style, just be sure to make it clear where you got your information from.
