You come home Friday night, and after a long week of classes and work, all you want to do is relax -- maybe fall asleep on the couch watching a movie. But, unfortunately, you can't; when you get home, several federal agents are searching your apartment.
They won't tell you why they're there.
They don't have to.
After they leave, your plans for a relaxing evening are shot, and good luck falling asleep.
We're lucky to live in a country where this scenario is not a possibility, but the newest Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was signed into law last week, is a step in that direction when it comes to keeping our right to privacy.
The law forces phone and e-mail companies to provide a copy of any telephone conversations, e-mails or text messages to the federal government if so requested, as long as one of the parties is "suspected" to be out of the country.
Having the government listening to your personal calls and reading your messages is a far cry from having it search your home with no warrant, but both violate the same basic principle: the right to privacy.
It's not just an ideal either; it's the law. The Fourth Amendment guarantees, "The right of the people to be secure ... against unreasonable searches and seizures."
It's not that we're worried about the government listening in on our conversations with our friends and family overseas, it's the idea that the government can do so on little more than a hunch that bothers us.
Presumption of innocence until proven guilty is an essential right, and one our legal system is built upon.
This new law works the opposite way. It assumes that everyone is guilty and worth monitoring and lets the government weed out those who are innocent.
But our Congress -- including both presidential nominees -- and our current president won't stand up for the right to privacy or the right to be innocent until you are proven guilty in a court of law.
Lucky for us, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will.
The ACLU filed suit against the law on Thursday, just two hours after FISA was signed into law. At the very least, its efforts should help delay the process of the new policy being put into effect.
This law has good intentions. Who isn't in favor of being safer? But if we sacrifice civil liberties on the altar of national security, then we begin to lose what makes this country worth protecting.
