Our government finally admits what everyone believed all along, they are spying on us. When I was little, the church told us, “God sees everything you do.” As young adults, we had spy movies and books that had us believe the governments of the world could track our every action. Enter the Information Age. Today you can find out just about anything on anyone with the click of a mouse (and credit card number). So why are we surprised to learn that the government actually is collecting data on us? They have been reading our emails via the FBI's carnivore software since 1997.
Spying can be beneficial and at the same time intrusive.
Imagine if you will, what might have happened had computers been around in the
1770s.
“King George, we have intercepted email traffic from America. Many of your subjects there are not happy about our Stamp Tax. We believe a rebellion is forming, and they are planning to dump our tea into the bay in Boston”, says Prime Minister North. “We must kill this rebellion immediately”, replies the King. “Send troops at once.”
As you can see, had the Britts had timely knowledge of the
rebellion fomenting here, we might all be driving on the wrong side of the road
and singing Hail To the Queen today. Even though, they would still have
difficulty forcing kidney pie and Yorkshire pudding down this throat.
On the other hand, let’s look at the beginning of the
prohibition era. “Mr. Ness, we have intercepted emails that a Chicagoan named
Capone is dealing in illegal booze.” Elliot Ness replies, “Take him down now.
We can convict him with his emails as evidence.”
We might all be partying with tea today had there been email
at that time.
Or how about 1941? “Mr. President, The Japanese Emperor is sending emails about ordering a fleet with aircraft carriers to Hawaii. Tojo sent a call out for enough Sake to get several thousand kamikaze pilots looped enough to bomb Pearl Harbor.” FDR replies, “what those people need is a good public works program to keep them busy.” We still get bombed, but what can you expect from Democrats.
There is an old saying, “knowledge is power.” We know the
government is the official seat of power in this and most other countries. Why
is it such a shock that the government is gathering information on people?
Assuming our government functions to the benefit of its citizens, gathering
information on them would seem a good way to protect them.
Privacy is something we all expect when sitting on the can.
I’m sure the doomsday preppers would prefer complete privacy everywhere. Then
too, so would rebels and terrorists. Just where to draw the line on privacy is
a difficult conundrum. I suppose it all comes down to a matter of trusting
those gathering your information to do the right thing with that data. There’s
not a lot of trust in our government today, which could be the reason for the
outcry against gathering data on phone records and Internet communications.
I don’t think it has happened here – at least I pray it hasn’t -- but in some countries mere suspicion, let alone solid information, is enough to make people simply disappear. In our country, there seems to be three options when dangerous and illegal activity is detected: apprehend those responsible, pay them to become informants, or simply ignore the data and leave them to their devices. Even after apprehension, they get a fair but lengthy trial and probably short sentence in a cushy custom resort at taxpayer expense.
The bottom line is we are never going to stop spying by
government or private entities. If you have something that absolutely must be
kept private, it is incumbent upon you to secure it. You and I have no
god-given right to universal privacy, and remember “anything you say (or do)
can and will be used against you.” This is especially true of information you
place on the Internet, airwaves, or telephone.
