The one in which all Americans can agree ?

Usually, the American society is divided in the discussion of key topics. not only based on the alignment of individuals to one of the set political parties but based on public opinion and political culture on its own. if you interviewed 50 Americans on topics such as immigration, gun control, abortion, healthcare, amongst others; odds are you would have a very evenly split number of opinions for and against these topics. However, one topic in which a greater portion of Americans would agree on is the importance of national security, that being by the protection and improvement of the work of security agencies such as the FBI or the CIA or the better implementation of visible security forces such as the local police or the TSA in airports.

Public opinion on national security is a pretty important aspect of American culture, since the country has been subject to major threats and attacks in the past, and understandably people want to be able to live and raise a family in an environment where they feel safe and confident that their government is doing all it can to ensure their safety and that of their families. I would argue that in this instance government is working effectively in ensuring this demand that has so much public support. This is evidenced by the 17 national agencies that make up the US intelligence community. Most of these agencies might not even be known to many Americans however, they are constantly working on the national security issues, and work tirelessly to ensure that Americans can live safely in their country.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-17-intelligence-agencies-20170112-story.html

5 Responses to "The one in which all Americans can agree ?"

Jacob Weis says:

February 26, 2018 at 11:46 am

Santiago,

You bring forth an interesting topic. I would have to agree with your point that the
greater portion of Americans favor and understand the importance of national security. Something that I would like to add is that majority of people perceive national security to be the protection against military attack. National security cover a lot more than just the military aspect. It can include economic security, environmental security, and even technological/cyber security. These unique forms of protection should be taken note of by the people and even looked into in regards to how they take place.

Thank you for your post
Timothy Miller says:

February 26, 2018 at 7:08 pm

Santiago,
I haven’t even heard of half of these agencies. I almost take for granted the safety I have because I don’t know life without the national security agencies. I do think that national security is very important as do many Americans, but the question is whether or not our money should go to that instead of other programs. Of course if it could go abundantly to both, it would, but that’s not how it works. Public opinion says national security is necessary, but it doesn’t always say it is necessary at the expense of other departments. That is one of the biggest questions about Trump’s spending. Is he putting too much into national security and is a border wall between Mexico and America worth the billions it would cost to build and the millions per year it would cost to maintain? That is where public opinion starts to get a little more interesting.
Thanks for your post.
Joanna Briand says:

February 27, 2018 at 3:33 pm

National Security is an extremely relevant issue because of the seemingly endless growing tensions all over the world. North Korea tested missiles and nuclear weapons, tensions with Moscow continue to grow, and troubles in the Middle East continue. In order to protect and prepare for any and all the things that could possibly go wrong, Trump’s strategy is particularly important. As mandated by Congress, Trump’s national security strategy is founded on four principles: protecting the homeland by restricting immigration, pressuring trading partners, building up the military and otherwise increasing U.S. influence globally. As Timothy mentioned, spending is a major determinant of how effective this strategy is because the strength of our nation is dependent upon how much money can be allocated to each individual source of security. The border wall between Mexico and America would be a form of “protection”, however, the 30 billion dollars that it requires may not be worth it. If around 60 percent of Americans oppose this construction wall, doesn’t this suggest a possibility that this money could be better allocated towards different sources of security, maybe ones that would be more effective? The question is, what is our biggest threat? Shouldn’t the government put money towards the security that our nation feels most protected with? Unfortunately, a wall wouldn’t provide protection from a missile, no matter how tall. Among the several global threats that America faces, the biggest threat is our own government’s inability to decide how to efficiently allocate the limited spending we have in order to protect ourselves before it’s too late. Sometimes, our biggest threat is one that remains unnoticed until it reveals itself.
Calum Johnson says:

February 28, 2018 at 1:48 pm

Santiago,

Although national security is something the vast majority of Americans support and view an increase as beneficial, this support is not necessarily for an increase in the powers of all intelligence agencies. Especially when increased power means hindering the rights of the people. The NSA’s duties can be argued as necessary to public safety, but on the other hand, spying on our internet activity and phone usage can be argued as major encroachment on our rights. Furthermore, increasing FBI’s power can lead to damaging affects as seen with the war on drugs. Yes, national security is valued in American society, but there are also many cases where it goes too far. Paranoia often fills the American public and leads to the development of unnecessary powers. National security is not separate from the division in this country. It may not be divided along the same lines as the more popular issues, but there is definitely still a divide.
Daniella Hatcher says:

February 28, 2018 at 10:21 pm

Santiago,

I do agree that this is a topic that most Americans can agree on but I feel like this is a broad topic. When most Americans hear national security they think of protection but like Jacob added national security is way more than that. When we began to narrow the topic down and talk about privacy and spying on our phone activity as Calum said I think that most Americans will have a more split opinion. Just like the topics that you mentioned, such as immigration and gun contro,l broadly would have split opinions but once narrowed down to a certain subject such as illegal immigration and age limit to buy a gun opinions will become more one-sided. If you want to stay on the outside and barely touch the surface and not get into any detail sure, most Americans are for national security. If you really want to get deep into it though that is when you will find the split in opinions.

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