The "Patriot" Act

I was just thinking...
Last night I watched "The US vs. John Lennon" and I was reminded of government wire tapping and spying on their own citizens. This type of despicable behavior has been going on for years, but most recently with the Bush Administration's passing of the USA PATRIOT Act. This stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" Act. Of course, this sounds like a positive act, a good tool in battling terrorism. But what is not made clear with the name is the fact that this act made it LEGAL for the US Government to wiretap and other forms of spying on their own citizens. Yes, governments have had this type of control over their citizens regularly, but NOT in so-called democratic republic. The act did not LITERALLY give the government the right to wiretap ANY citizen they wanted, but it might as well have. They were given the right to spy on anyone they considered to be a possible threat to the United States. Which, in essence, means they could spy on anyone. THEY are the ones who decide who is a possible threat, AND the ones who carry out the spying. Big brother much? I think so.
This act is clearly a violation of rights of privacy, and SHOULD be illegal.
Recently, a similar type of unfair abuse of power has been enacted in Arizona, where their recent immigration law gives cops the right to ask anyone who APPEARS as if they could be here illegally (i.e. ANYONE who looks even vaguely Hispanic) for their "papers" (documentation that they are legally allowed to be here). If the accused party does not have the "papers" on their physical body, they are subject to immediate arrest. Sickening. This legitimately sounds like something that would have been done in Hitler's Germany, minus the death camps. It is, and should be considered incredibly illegal. It is a law allowing severe racism.
Via Facebook, I have seen support for this Arizona law, with groups named "It's not racism, you're here ILLEGALLY." These support groups do NOT understand what it is about the law that is wrong; The law gives the hand of the law (cops) the right to arrest ANYONE who LOOKS like they COULD possibly be here illegally. Yes, the government has the right to deport/detain/arrest those here illegally, but to round up anyone because the way they look is disgusting and wrong.
This brings me back to the original law discussed, the USA PATRIOT Act. This contrived acronym was used because a majority of US citizens are stupid. If it sounds like something good, like patriotism, they will automatically assume it is itself good. It's just like liking Green Day. They were good at one point, so people assume they still are, and don't come in with a critical eye, immediately accepting dreck like "21st Century Breakdown" as a good album, even though it is clearly not. The same goes for laws like the USA PATRIOT Act.
There are so many issues with this country that need to be addressed, and the USA PATRIOT Act is definitely one of them.

Tomorrow, I will talk about the BP Oil Spill.