The Coexistence of Liberty and Security in Today's Modern Technological World (Research Paper Sample)

The coexistence of security and liberty in today’s modern technological world
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The coexistence of security and liberty in today’s modern technological world
Background
Globalization due to technological advancement has presented challenges to governments concerning striking a balance between freedom and security. The first challenge is the protection of citizen’s security due to the increase in terrorism to international levels which has been aided by the transformation in communications technology making it easier for planning and executing terrorist attacks. This challenge makes it hard for governments to protect its citizens. The second challenge lies in the protection of the liberty of citizens. It has been easy to keep track of the activities of people due to improvements in satellite monitoring and computer science (Viarengo, 2011). These complex bureaucracies intrude into the private lives of citizens whom it’s supposed to protect. It’s hard to make the crucial judgment on how much freedom we should forego so as to be safe.
Current events
Research done in 2010 indicated that 47% of the Americans supported the fact that government policies had gone too far in protecting the country and its citizens adequately (Moeckli, 2008). In the same research, 32% of the sampled Americans indicated they were more concerned with the fact that the government had gone too far in restricting the freedom of an average person in order to promote security. During the era of President Bush, research indicated that he authorized the agency dealing with national security to take a close monitor on phone emails and calls of those Americans suspected of having criminal links, this was done without the permission from the court. This led to the eruption of intense concerns about liberty, especially from the Democrats. In 2008 February, 39% and 74% of Democrats and Republicans respectively were in support of the monitoring of phones and emails to promote security. Current research indicates that many of the Americans put more value on protection against terrorism acts over their civil freedom, although there is still conflicting interest on which aspect between security and freedom should come first. In the most recent research conducted in Aug 2011, 57% of Americans supported the idea that all citizens should carry their national IDs in whichever place they go, 53% supported the idea that additional airport check points should be created for passengers who seem have the Middle-Eastern descent. Lastly, 29% suggested that the government should monitor personal emails and phone calls (Chirinos, 2005). This indicates that it is difficult to balance security and freedom, especially in the modern technological world.
My opinion
It is quite difficult for freedom and security to coexist in today’s modern technological world. There are many Human Rights Acts (HRA) which make it hard to fight crime either directly or indirectly. For instance, the Asset Recovery Agency which was established in Britain to snatch those assets owned by major criminals. This agency has been forced to spend much money in the fight against legal challenges brought about by criminals under the HRA; this has resulted in bogging down of cases for many years (Moseneke, 2012). There is much legislation which is authoritarian and ineffective thus it fails in the promotion of the security of citizens, also, it undermines their civil liberties. To fight crime and at the same...