America. Land of the free and the brave. If you love football, guns, steak, and bald eagles as much as I do, then the US of A may just be the place for you.

Man, I do love this country, with her flaws and all, but lately I've been pondering on the thought that maybe we're not as free as we’d like to think.

After the events of September 11th, 2001, the United States went off the wall.

The country ensued in extreme paranoia, and for good reason -- you didn't know who could be a terrorist during this period of time.

Muslims were the primary target of this suspicion because of who had flown the planes into the World Trade Center. It wasn't Islamophobia, because the highest number of deaths via terrorist attacks were due to people killing in the name of Islam.

But our president at that time did not help the situation at all; instead of taking the fight straight to the Middle East, and doing only that, George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, which allowed the government to spy on and survey any individuals who may be suspected of being terrorists.

At the time, maybe it seemed like the best course of action to take against terrorists residing in our borders, but there's one problem.

The Act is still in place, and why? I have no clue.

Bin Laden is dead, Al Qaeda is gone!

ISIS is still alive and well, but hopefully President Trump’s travel ban will halt their crimes against America. And just trust guys, the travel ban will work, no matter how many times a federal judge tries to block it.

Furthermore, The USA PATRIOT Act is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever implemented by any administration.

The government is supposed to make an army and get the hell out of our way, not violate our rights.

The Fourth Amendment gives “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

So what? The government thinks you're related to a terrorist, or are one, and can now invade your privacy? I mean, you don't even have to be accused or suspected of terrorism, and the government can still spy on you. How dumb is that?

We’re sheep, who are being monitored every second of the day, and now the government has the gall to tell us to our faces.

I think it is incredibly stupid when people say, “I'm not doing anything wrong so I have nothing to worry about.”

Yeah? Getting spied on is fantastic! I think our country is moving in the right direction!

It never fails to amaze me why people are so willing to give up the freedoms that so many died for in the earliest stages of our country.

Life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of Happiness. When our liberty is taken away, then our identity is taken away. That is not the America I love, and that is definitely not the America the founding fathers envisioned in their time.

So why is the bill still in place?

To control the population, to make sure they know who everyone is, and what they look up, buy, watch on TV, call, text, you name it.

I still don't trust the fingerprint reader on my phone, as well as Siri or other similar assistance programs in smartphones.

I wish more people knew they were being spied on; then, they might be more careful about what they do or say.

But then people will be driven by fear and act differently, ultimately “behaving,” and helping the federal government achieve their goal.

Popular to contrary belief, I hate Republicans because of things like this. They also just signed a bill letting the department of justice access to your internet browser history. Woohoo! Go Republicans, you're totally focusing on what's important! No, honestly, this old group of conservative baptists couldn't make a good decision if their life depended on it.

At the rate were at, I wouldn't be surprised if the crazy anarchists that burn flags and protest while wearing masks start some kind of revolution. They would have a good cause; the government is increasing their scope and need to stop.

They need to get the hell out of American’s lives and let us live in freedom.

You would think Republicans would want to shrink the scope of the federal government, but in actuality bozos like George Bush and Paul Ryan increase surveillance and defense. Let's thank them for letting the government spy on us! Fantastic job!

It's crazy how people have gone from “give me liberty or give me death” to “they're just protecting us.” It makes very pessimistic about the future.

All in all the PATRIOT Act is horrible, and we, as Americans, need to put our foot down and create a coalition against this tyranny.

Establishment politics are ruining our lives; we need to make this land, free once again.

‘Merica.