Since eavesdropping is morally bad, should society prohibit the government from listening in on its citizens telephone conversations?
First of all, the assertion that eavesdropping is morally wrong is not something that can be proven. You cannot simply assume that you are right and that this is a moral issue. If the majority of people in a democratic society believe that it is okay to allow the government to do this, you will need to explain why your vision of morals is correct and theirs is not. Second, the right to be free from surveillance is not the only right around. People also have the right to be free from terrorist attacks, for example. If these two rights come into conflict (if the surveillance might prevent the attacks) then you have two rights that must be balanced against one another. Because of this need for a balance, the United States government may only eavesdrop when a court grants it permission to do so. This may not be a perfect solution, but there is no perfect way to balance two rights against one another.
