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Evelyn Ojeda
Professor Altman
English 113A
29 October 2014
The Controlled and the Controller
If we are not being protected than does that mean we are being controlled? Many people
question the extension of the governments control and whether or not the government is actually
abusing it. But in order to question their control we have to first examine what it is they do in the
matters of their job. The governments role in society is to provide national security, establish
justice, and insure domestic tranquility for the people. That is what the job of the government
consists of, however, many believe that we have allowed them the right to extend their control as
a sort of precaution for our safety and well-being. This extended control is being used in many
situations such as extensive surveillance in our country which is simply an invasion of our
privacy as noted in the fourth amendment. The government is also using propaganda to control
our nation. The use of propaganda is targeted to those that want to fight for our country. The
government tries to persuade many to join the U.S Army because it is patriotic to serve our
country and defend it which is an easier way of getting people to enlist rather than being forced
to do so. The governments grasp on propaganda is an inherently tactful strategy in leading our
nation to believe that the government is only looking out for our best interests which in reality
they may be only looking to promote their own personal agenda which includes tightening their
control on us by allowing us to believe we have a choice. Another way the government is trying
to abuse their control is limiting several of our civil rights which include freedom of speech,
press, and assembly, the right to vote, and the right to equality in public places. By the

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government limiting several of our civil rights they are assuring us that they are doing so only to
ensure our safety however, it only sounds like control, control, and more control. The
government is involved in our lives but, their involvement is allowing them to claim control over
us as a precaution. The government should not be allowed to control us because it is a violation
of our rights such as, when they are allowed to surveillance us, they should also not be able to
control us through propaganda and should not be limiting our civil liberties do to our safety,
the government has gone too far and their reign of control needs to come to an end.
Our government, the ones who protect and serve us have also chosen to exploit us by the
use of their extensive surveillance technologies in order to supposedly keep us safe. In the
article Fearmongering NSA Reform by Neema Singh Guliani she exclaims how the
government did in fact violate our natural rights of the fourteenth amendment by spying on us.
Senator Ron Paul notes that the domestic use of drones to spy on Americans clearly violates the
Fourth Amendment and limits our rights to personal privacy (Washingtonsblog 1). The NSA
was seen as having crossed the lines in the ways of spying on the American people, but tried to
counteract that argument by stating that it was the best thing to do. As they tried to convince and
argue to the public that it was all in the good interests of the American people and their safety,
others considered it as a violation and offence of their own rights. In times of war, there is
always a temptation to barter with Americans' freedoms. But more surveillance does not translate
into more security. In this era of perpetual war, we should be extra cautious about signing away
our rights in exchange for hollow promises of enhanced safety (Guliani 1). This quote is a
perfect example of how our government thinks that they could just excuse their selves from our
own natural rights and implement that they were simply just looking out for our safety. These are
the ideas in which our government allows us to believe that their control is being abused.

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Why does one need an army if one does not seek to start a war? The U.S government for
years has been urging young Americans to enlist into the Army. They capture this type of
interest through a term known as propaganda. Propaganda is used through every newspaper,
magazine, radio station, advertisement ad, and through many other types of mass media that are
able to reach their intended audiences. Our government uses propaganda as a way of control.
Whether it is war related, army intended, or even patriotically practiced, the government will
always seek for a way to control us subliminally and unconsciously. War will always be a part of
our history but it will also live on into our future. No matter how different the times are, we as
Americans will always seem to coexist with war because it seems as though our government
always needs a war to demonstrate their power and control. A country at war with an enemy
(external or internal) is generally a country that is united in fear, and one in which the people are
happy to hand over power to their leaders (Smith 1). When fear is inflicted upon a person one is
willing to give over what little power they were holding. Fear does not build a nation, fear
evokes being controlled and that does not sanctify the means of living it is better known as just
surviving waiting for the end to come.
The government may in strike fear into our minds or even have a take on brain
manipulation through propaganda and such, but one thing is for certain and that is that the
government does not have the okay to rule out our civil rights. Our civil rights which have to do
with our freedom of speech, press, and assembly, along with others have been sought out by our
government as a way at looking out for our safety. We are currently at war with another nation
and as form of National Security the government has taken it under their hands to say that the
limiting of our civil rights is only to ensure our safety. The government has gone to the extent of
violating our civil rights in the case of silencing our voices because we see unfit to what they

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think. Online there is a website that goes by ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) that gives a
long list of information about how a person can express their civil rights. This is an outrage
especially considering that we shouldnt have to follow any guidelines regarding how we would
like to express ourselves in public. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances (Washingtonspost 1). However the government seems to be doing the
exact opposite as they tighten their control of those peacefully protesting and fray away those
who speak out about their use of having the right to freedom of speech. Our government is going
about this situation all wrong, the people hold the rights and our government is to respect and
look out for them, not limit them and say it is to enforce our safety.
Although our government is supposed to be protecting our rights and making decisions
for the better good of our society, they have in fact been doing the opposite by having let that
power fall into their own hands. We think we live in a democracy, which is the type of society
in which ultimate power lies with the people (Washingtonspost 2). The government is supposed
to protect us and keep our best interests in mind however, they have only sought to control us
and aid their own agendas by silencing the people and their rights. Control is power and our
government has used it through surveillance, propaganda, and the limitations of our own civil
rights. This is an important matter because we the people should hold this power and control it
not our government that deems us unworthy and incapable of being able to make decisions in
our best interests. Power should not be concentrated in the hands of so few and powerlessness
in the hands of so many (Kuhn 1). Government control is what this nation is abided by and the

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fact that we have allowed them to have this much power is mistakenly the worst thing we could
have ever allowed ourselves to give.

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Works Cited

ACLU. Know Your Rights. Internet.

Guliani Singh, Neema. Fearmongering NSA Reform. (24 September 2014):1. Internet.
Khun, Maggie. Brainy Quotes.(2001-2014): Internet.
Shan, Anup. War, Propaganda and the Media. (31 March 2005):1. Internet.
Smith, John. Manipulation of the People. (September 2003):1. Internet.
Washingtonsblog. How many Rights Have Americans Really Lost? (21 February 2013):1.
Internet.