When it comes to the fundamental privacy rights of the American citizen, there is not much room for major disagreement. The Northeastern College Republicans and the Northeastern College Democrats can both agree that the Constitution is clear when it comes to this issue, there are serious privacy concerns with information collection today
A wide variety of polls also show that our two groups are far from the only Americans who feel the same. Specifically, a Washington Post/ABC News Poll found that nearly three-quarters of Americans feel that NSA programs infringe on privacy rights. [1]
While there is much agreement on this issue, it is worth saying that in order to achieve real change on privacy rights in America, we must also address the various laws and practices that created this issue. A closer look needs to be taken at provisions of the Patriot Act, and at what metadata collectors like Facebook and Google are doing with that information.
Public opinion on the NSA surveillance issues are relatively the same regardless of party, and there are many reasons why. The fact that these programs were largely a secret is a definite reason. While it’s understandable that revealing too much about these surveillance tactics might reduce their effectiveness, there has to be at least some proof of any significant effectiveness at all. Unless there is some strong proof shown of why we need programs like PRISM, there’s really no justification for their existence at all.
That is something that both the College Democrats and College Republicans can definitely agree on.
Another major reason why the NSA issue may not be as divisive as other issues, like taxes or health care, is the fact that in the midst of economic recovery and major social issues, there are bigger things on their mind. While social issues like abortion and gay marriage relate to the core of many American’s varying religious and social beliefs, everyone (or at least anyone who’s read 1984 by George Orwell) can agree where to draw the line with government surveillance. No one wants to be spied on.
Shakeir Gregory
Vice President
Northeastern University College Democrats
[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-privacy-concerns-rise-after-nsa-leaks/2013/07/23/3a1b64a6-f3c7-11e2-a2f1-a7acf9bd5d3a_story.html
