Question

The federal government must often balance protecting individual liberties and providing for order and security. At times, priority is given to one over the other.
Take a position on whether the federal government should place more emphasis on protecting individual liberties or providing for order and security.

Use at least one piece of evidence from one of the following foundational documents:

a. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution
b. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution
c. The Necessary and Proper Clause

In your response you should do the following:

a. Respond to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning.
b. Support your claim with at least TWO pieces of specific and relevant evidence.

• One piece of evidence must come from one of the foundational documents listed above.
• A second piece of evidence can come from any other foundational document not used as your first piece of evidence, or it may come from your knowledge of course concepts.
c. Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim or thesis.

Answer 1

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

I am going to take into consideration the 1st. Amendment to the United States Constitution.

It is true that the federal government must often balance protecting individual liberties and providing for order and security. We have seen how, at times, priority is given to one over the other, depending on the circumstances.

However, according to my thinking and belief systems, the federal government should always place more emphasis on protecting individual liberties. Just when the exceptional case is necessary, then the federal government must provide for order and security.

As stated in the 1st. Amendment, citizens must always have their freedom of speech and freely express what they believe is right; this includes reasonable critics of the economic and political systems, as well as to highlight positive attributes too.

Respecting the differences has always been a trademark for true democracies.

It is understandable that in times of conflict, as was the case of WWI and WWII, the government has put restrictions on certain liberties.

Some would say that the September 11 attacks justify the creation of the type of surveillance the government placed on the citizens, but that is when a fine line was crossed between protection and "espionage" without the consent of the citizens.