Being Watched What makes something so secret that it must be kept out of public view? The National Security Agency or NSA is a government program responsible for global surveillance and analysis of information for foreign intelligence purposes as well as counterintelligence. President Obama's opinion on the illegal practice of mass surveillance is: “I don't like the leaks. There is a reason why there are programs that are classified. Mr. Obama is the president and if there is a reason why we shouldn't know that, then it must be true; this has unfortunately become the thought process of most Americans. Since Prohibition, Americans have questioned government and have always believed that it was the people who watched the government, not the government who watched the people. What citizens of the United States and foreign countries do not know is that every phone call can be listened to, every text message read, every camera turned on remotely, and everything that goes through an Internet Service Provider can be monitored . The government was able to accomplish this by “granting authority under the Patriot Act to collect a recording of every telephone call [as well as other communications] made by every American” (ACLU). This is perhaps the greatest act of terrorism and the greatest violation of the Constitution that the world has ever seen. These terrorist acts ironically come from the country that has spent the most money in the fight against terrorism, the United States. It is a crime to open another person's mail, but there is nothing wrong with the fact that every email can be opened by government officials without the legal request of a warrant. People who become aware of these facts are often scrutinized because they pay attention to the many whistleblowers who are publicly exiled. Still in the middle of paper, American mass surveillance be declassified and the money financing these operations be redirected to those who need it. If Americans do not act now, a horrible police state will continue to enslave its citizens. The illusion of freedom was exposed and the real actions against the natural rights of the people were revealed. We cannot stand up with our right hand on our hearts and honestly say “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” until this problem has been resolved. No big change has ever happened instantly and it is understandable that some time may pass before appropriate legislation is put in place to prevent this, but this problem needs to be recognized now. Every individual has the power to change, do not let your freedoms be cowardly taken away and remember that the only tyrannical government is one that is not reformed..