The United States government has too much power for its own good. They are in charge of too much. The individual members that comprise the government are generally shady figures with criminal records and personal agendas, though we expect them to lead fairly and impartially. The government has too much power, illustrated by the NSA scandal, the unconstitutional law-making, and the aggressive militarism. The NSA is invading the privacy of the nation, the legislative branch is creating laws that violate the rights of Americans, and the violent military force that the government is always so eager to use is coming more and more often. If there isn’t a shift in authority soon, possibly back to the states, as was originally intended, then nobody can be sure what the future might hold. The most powerful nation in the world might fall to its knees because of incompetence in its government. Or we could inch closer and closer to becoming a communist nation, where citizens’ lives are strictly directed by the all-powerful government. The scandal involving the NSA illegally monitoring citizens is a fitting example of how the government has too much power. They were able to use their power of influence to bend the rules around the crimes they were committing. Because nobody could do anything about it, the government could do basically whatever they wanted to.

The NSA was established in the year 1952 by President Truman for the purpose of monitoring inward communications, detecting terrorism, and aiding the military. Then, in 1973, the supreme court ruled that it was completely unconstitutional to listen and record citizens’ communications. They decided that a warrant was necessary for any bugging of communications or surveillance. In 1975, it was uncovered that the NSA was still watching the people, even with the new laws restricting it. Because there is no body to enforce laws on the government, as they are the highest power, Congress suggested “reforms”. The NSA “entertained” the reforms, meaning they considered the suggestions and decided they woul...

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