More crappy government
This article from msnbc talks about an 81 year-old retired university professor from Univ. of Kansas having his mail opened by Homeland Security. Now, the letter was from a friend of his from the Philippines and was opened since there is apparently a lot of terrorist activity coming from that chain of islands. In a way, I can understand the need to check something like this for any terrorist stuff, but with this administration I object. My friend Peter argues, quite convincingly, that secret spying is necessary and has proven successful in stopping terrorism.
However, I think I have pinpointed the source of my objection. In reality, I really don't care if the government reads my mail or e-mails, checks my library records, wiretaps my phone, or checks my computer for terrorist plans. I have nothing to hide. However, there are people that have something to hide and those are not always illegal. For example, maybe a person wants to keep their sexuality private since they are afraid of losing their job. What if the government listens to this person's phone calls to their secret lover? Normally, this would not be HUGE deal because the government wouldn't have any use for it. However, what if this person decides to run for office. I, for one, do not trust the current administration to not use everything within their power to sabotage their opposition.
OK, I realize that this idea is a little far-fetched and loaded with conspiracy theory. However, that is where this administration has left us. The seeds of distrust were planted in the 2000 election and were only furthered by the outright lies that got us into Iraq. The VP is profiting from the war, we are torturing people secretly, and members of the administration are revealing identities of CIA agents. Why should I trust them with my library record?
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4 comments:
Bob Dylan said, "To live outside the law, you must be honest".
One can make a case for bugs and wiretapping, but you can't make it for these guys. Their main argument is "We're the good guys - trust us" and they've been proven over and over to be bad and untrustworthy.
Exactly. I'm actually OK with wiretapping to a certain extent, but not these guys. Example: I am OK with the handyman that lives in my complex coming in when I'm not there to fix something. I'm not OK with the unknown cable guy doing the same.
The problem, in my humble opinion, is that our whole system of government is based on limited power. The president's administration doesn't respect that. They have little respect for congress and absolutely no respect for the Judicial branch. When he took his oath of office, the President agreed to work within the system provided under the Constitution, he didn't do it. It wasn't like it was hard for him to do and he still didn't do it because he has no respect for anyone's authority outside of his own. I don't think the Slippery Slope argument is faulty logic in this case. This President is not up for re-election and neither is the Vice President, the will of the people can only be expressed now through our Congress, things will go from bad to worse very quickly if the President does not see the Congress as having a check on his Power.
The President's party is up for re-election this year and again in '08. That is one way we can use our voice. I read a poll (USA Today/Gallup/etc.) that said 45% of voters are planning to vote. That number, although depressing, is pretty high. I think there are more people getting disenchanted by the current administration. Let me also say this: I don't expect a Democrat president to be that much better.
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