I don't think there is a lot of debate on this subject. The 4th amendment, like many of the others, was very similar to laws which were in the English law books. The intent was for the American people to have the freedom to conduct business, and live their lives, without having to worry about unwarranted searches of their homes and belongings. This also limited what could be searched, if there was probable cause for search. They could not just come in, and take everything you owned. The ability of those performing the search to seize items, documents, property, etc, was limited to items pertaining to the investigation. If they were searching your home for evidence of a murder, they could not confiscate your music collection, unless there was reason to believe it was somehow involved in the murder.
We take this freedom; and if we are not careful, it, like so many others, will be lost. We have the freedom to live our lives as we see fit, as long as it is within the confines of the law, without fear. If you do not speed, you don't have to worry about a speeding ticket. If you obey the law, then you, generally, have no reason to fear the law. I would like to illustrate this point with a couple of verses from the book of Romans, in the Bible.
Romans 13:3-5 NASB - "For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake."The law is there, not to constrain the righteous, but the wicked. If you are obeying the law, then you have no reason to fear the law. This, however, illuminates a big flaw in the concept of this large government which we see growing up around us. When you have a 1,000-page piece of legislation, it becomes almost impossible to know what the law is. If you don't know what the law is, or it is so detailed or so vague as to be too difficult to understand, then you don't know if you are, or are not, obeying the law. This leads to a life of doubt, and fear, as you never know, truly, if you are living within the confines of the law. It also allows the government the ability to prosecute, or maybe persecute is better, whomever they choose, as they can interpret the "law" in whatever way they deem necessary.
What this all comes down to is... "Wake up! Otherwise you will find yourself with no freedoms at all."
