Novice Tournament Finals: NSA Spying is Beneficial to the US.

The Problem With Big DataAs we all know, the NSA's objective with its data mining program is to collect as much metadata as possible. They want to see who you've been calling, how long, what websites you've been visiting, etc. The justification for this massive collection is that having massive amounts of data will allow the NSA to find correlations in the data that are related to activities that are harmful to the US. This however, is not a very effective method of investigation. According to respected data analyst Meta Brown, "The unspoken assumption here is that possessing massive quantities of data guarantees that the government will be able to find criminals, and find them quickly, by tracing their electronic tracks. That assumption is unrealistic. Massive quantities of data add cost and complexity to every kind of analysis, often with no meaningful improvement in the results. Indeed, data quality problems and slow data processing are almost certain to arise, actually hindering the work of data analysts. It is far more productive to invest resources into thoughtful analysis of modest quantities of good quality, relevant data."[1]Think about it. If the NSA was actually able to effectively pan through all the data they were collecting, shouldn't the Tsarnaev brothers have shown up on their radar? Intelligence agencies were alerted of the potential danger of the Tsarnaev brothers[2]. If the NSA's main concern was quality examination of relevant data, they would've been checking out the Tsarnaev brothers, who used the internet to get bomb-building instructions[3]. It's logical to conclude that a quality data oriented NSA would've been closely monitoring their actions on the web, and seen that they were looking for bomb-building instructions.Also consider the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab[2]. His father warned the CIA that he was a threat, but he was not placed on a no-fly list. Passengers on a plane ended up subduing him when he tried to set his bombs off. While this incident is more representative of a failure of the CIA, it reflects poorly on the rest of the intelligence community as well. Perhaps if the NSA was more focused on quality data, more focused on targeting actual suspects, additional investigating by the NSA would have been done on this man, and perhaps the incident could've been avoided.But enough of the individual cases, let's look at the big picture. I can spend all day highlighting some major failures, but it won't matter if they're the minority of outcomes. Since 9/11, 225 terrorism cases have been prosecuted. Of this 225, only 4 trace their roots back to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is what the NSA justifies their data mining with[4]. So that's roughly 1.8% of cases that this program has actually had a part in. On top of these miniscule contributions, an expert panel called by the White House has gone on record to say that this Section 215 was "not essential to preventing attacks"[2]. This would suggest that the 1.8% could've been accomplished without the massive data mining, but rather with traditional investigative methods. Further supporting this idea, is a report from the non-partisan group called New America Foundation which states "The widespread use of informants suggests that if there was an NSA role in these cases, it was limited and insufficient to generate evidence of criminal wrongdoing without the use of traditional investigative tools."[5] Essentially, the NSA's unconventional mass data mining is not what gets things done in the intelligence community. The Slippery SlopeEffectiveness or lack thereof aside, we are on a slippery slope. This slippery slope is one in which we the people of America slowly lose our rights. As we lose our rights, so too we lose our power. The power will accumulate at the top, concentrated in a very small ruling minority.Sure, right now, they're just asking to see who you've called, and where from. Sure, right now, they just want to know where you've been on the internet. But this will change. Perhaps our current generation won't stand for it, we'll say that the next changes would be going too far, but what about our children or grandchildren? If they grow up used to the NSA's current level of intrusiveness, the NSA can swing upping the intrusiveness a bit. Next they'll be censoring certain parts of the web, and actually listening in on the content of phone calls, all in the interest of 'national security'. If you think I'm crazy you should study more history. Man has proven over and over again that power corrupts. If you think that NSA will stop where they are now and just be satisfied, you have that lesson to learn yet. If we don't take a stand somewhere, we eventually won't have any rights left, and all the power will reside with the government. Perhaps some of you are thinking, 'ok, so they'll keep coming for my rights, if it makes us safer, so what?' Well, aside from the fact that I've already shown the NSA doesn't really make you safer, also consider what has happened in societies where the masses have few rights, and all the power resides with the government. How about Nazi Germany as an example? Hitler had absolute control over his people, and they were so brainwashed that they fought his war for him without a second thought (for the most part). When power resides with a minority, it will eventually corrupt them and can lead to a disaster like World War 2, in which 50-70 million people died[6]. It can lead to a people without any freedom or individuality being manipulated in ways that are harmful to the whole of humanity. It doesn't have to be a world war either, the kind of slippery slope we're on can eventually lead to an oppressive regime like North Korea[5]. The North Korean government is in full control of its people, and if you follow the link, you see that things are pretty dismal for the people. While it may seem crazy to talk about America becoming this way, it really isn't. Obviously such a change wouldn't occur overnight, but rather over a very long period of time during which our rights slowly recede, one by one. The NSA's data mining is one of the instances in which we continue this trend of losing and rights and losing control.Or this trend could lead us to a point where the people of America wake up and see where our country is headed, and armed revolution begins. Again, may sound crazy, but the trend we are on, if uninterrupted, could bring us to this point. Such a revolution would obviously involve lots of death, much more than the NSA is preventing right now.RecapSo consider the atrocities committed thanks to Nazi Germany, think on the human rights violations that take place daily in NK, and think of recent civil conflicts, such as those in Syria, and then think about the measly capabilities the NSA's data mining brings to the table. Is the trade even remotely worth it? I think we can all agree that we owe it to future generations to put an end to the trend of loss of rights and governmental consolidation of power, and put an end to the NSA's unacceptably intrusive data mining. Thanks for reading.Sources:[1] http://www.forbes.com...[2] http://www.forbes.com...[3] http://usnews.nbcnews.com...[4] http://patriotpost.us...[5] http://northkoreanoppression.wordpress.com...[6] http://www.howmanypeopledied.net...