As you may know, the U.S. Patriot Act went into effect yesterday. As a bank employee, this affects me more than it will affect most people and I must say, I have mixed feelings about the Act. First, banks were used in the "war" against drugs and now, we're being used in the war against terrorism. I'll admit, using banks is a pretty effective way of curbing money laundering, but the Patriot Act is a little more invasive than most people are comfortable with. The main point of the Patriot Act is to make sure the bank knows who their customer is, using several means to make sure the person is who they say they are. I don't have a problem with that. The fact is, there are enough people out there who are willing to commit fraud, that banks have to be cautious. My problem with the Act is this: I'm always hesitant to embrace new laws that allows the government even more control over us than they already have. (I know I sound paranoid.) My other problem is that I keep being told that I am part of "Homeland Security." That may be true, but if it is, I think I should get a raise.
Posted by christin at October 2, 2003 02:44 PM | TrackBackBut, do you get a badge or a bullet?
Posted by: mmb at October 2, 2003 03:03 PMI'm with you on this! I fear that our personal liberties and freedoms will slowly be taken away in the name of protecting us from terror.
Posted by: Rus at October 2, 2003 05:28 PMYour fear is well-founded, however, all that you can do is be faithful and use good sense. Each one of us daily executes judgement in regard to the laws of our land-they expect you to do the same here.
Posted by: SonofThunder at October 3, 2003 12:28 PMIt would be humorous or ironic if it wasn't so deadly how socialist we have become. Everytime I get a ticket or get a card in the mail from my mother demanding that I sign up for the draft it hits me just how far we've declined. I wish the founding fathers were still around to lead us in throwing off this tyranny...they were good at that.
Posted by: Gray at October 3, 2003 02:55 PMIf the founding fathers were here, we would probably throw them off. We ourselves must become more reformed before we can even think about seeing our land accepting reform.
Posted by: SonofThunder at October 3, 2003 11:50 PM