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AP Topics for Thursday 12/02

The essay will be written in class on Thursday, 12/02. AP students will be allowed to bring one article with statistics/facts (not opinion) to use in their papers. Otherwise, the paper comes from your understanding of the issue based on class discussion and your own opinions. As always, the length of the paper will be determined by content and time available.


ARGUMENT ESSAY

Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose one of the controversies below; then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that carefully considers the opposing positions on this controversy and proposes a solution or compromise.

OPTION A

Benjamin Franklin, in 1755, wrote that "those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." In light of the recent controversy regarding airport security -- full body scanners and "aggressive pat-downs" -- what is your opinion on the methods used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensure public safety? Some have suggested that the TSA should go even further, focusing only on Muslims. Do you agree with Franklin's quote, and is it even relevant in this case? Do fourth amendment rights to privacy apply?

OPTION B

In recent months, the website Wikileaks.org has made documents available to the public that were previously classified. The information contained in those leaks (dubbed "Cablegate" by the press), as well as the leaks planned in coming weeks and months, is considered by some to be a dangerous breach of national security while others welcome the transparency regarding the actions of our government overseas. To quote the Christian Science Monitor, "The WikiLeaks controversy pits one hallowed purpose of US government – preventing security threats from abroad – against another, that of protecting constitutional rights of expression by the media and individuals." Which do you believe takes priority?

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