The Patriot Act is a key issue in Little Brother, even though it is not specifically mentioned. Former President George W. Bush on October twenty-sixth, 2001, signed the USA Patriot Act, which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The act was originally introduced in the House of Representatives by the House Chair, Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr, a member of the Republican Party. It was almost unanimous in the Senate, receiving only one “no” vote and received eighty-four percent of the votes in the House. Corey Doctorow would have undoubtedly been in that small minority.
The Patriot Act dramatically increases the government’s power regarding law enforcement’s ability to search telephone, e-mail, medical, and financial records, as well as several other authorities involving foreign intelligence as well as financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign entities. It has ten titles that provide the details to this relatively new law.
As seen in Little Brother, it gives the government lots of invasive power. Doctorow uses the main character, Marcus, to represent the unheard voice of the American people. He could have chosen to make his protagonist any type of character, but he chose a nerdy high school student for a reason: to represent those who seemingly have no power against the government. The Patriot Act was not voted upon by the people, but rather their elected officials. Marcus, though, had no say in even electing said officials, yet he was affected by this law more than almost anyone. But the question I pose to Doctorow is what would he have the government do?
The Patriot Act was put into place as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. This was George W. Bush’s first major action following his famous speech at Ground Zero, promising to make those responsible pay for their wrongdoings. He would not be able to carry out this promise without this law. While Bush had one of the highest approval ratings in history at the time the act was passed, it did not go without controversy, but nevertheless it went through.
It’s unclear whether or not the Patriot Act played a significant role in Osama Bin Laden’s death, but now that Bin Laden has been brought to justice, even those who initially supported it are calling for it to end. Its initial purpose has been accomplished, but it still can be of further use to the country.
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Image borrowed from dancingczars.wordpress.com
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