[Pang Chin Wang] - How far should a state have a right to monitor the actions of people within its borders?

The government is a body that represents the nation and makes decisions for its citizens. Basically, they care for the welfare of the people in terms of healthcare, education and lodging by setting and facilities that are accessible and affordable. Although the state decides for the welfare of its people, I do not agree that they should have a right to monitor the action of its people due to the fact that every citizen has their basic freedom of rights and privacy that allows them to do things freely as long as they do not harm our society. Furthermore, everyone should be given its own privacy as there are sensitive matters that some people might not be willing and able to share. These are mostly practiced in democratic nation when its people also have the freedom of choice to make decisions for them. However, in certain unforeseen circumstances I agree that the state should have a right to monitor the actions of its people if a threat is present. When a threat poses a danger to the entire nation, the government should be responsible for bringing it to an end and as a result, for certain cases it is understandable when the state monitors any suspicious characters so that their country would be much safer for its people. For example, phone tapping is used in investigations by the police during cases such as kidnapping, bomb threats so that the police force would be able to track down the culprits. This strengthens the nation’s internal security and deters any possible threats. Hence, I feel that the government should not monitor the actions of people within its border.