Any time I violate your rights, I let myself know.
(Except when I don’t because it doesn’t really matter anyway.)
Before you read any further… Put on your “Surprised” Face.
The NSA violates your rights routinely. 8-9 times a day… every day… and they plan to do it forever.
Everybody feel better now?
Have you ever wondered who exactly you should fear in life? Have you spent even a moment considering the possibility that the very people you support might be involved in exactly the behaviors you loath and define as tyrannical? Odd’s are you have.
If you feel a sense of betrayal, you’re not alone.
My life is small… but it was mine. Now that’s not even true.
The only good that is coming out of these revelations regarding the breadth and depth of our countries Domestic Spying programs are the names and faces of those who condone it.
We are seeing Politicians as well as Business Leaders showing their true colors.
Because you are small… your life is not yours to keep private.
I was having a conversation a couple of days ago with a student from Sweden. He is here pursuing further education and we struck up a dialogue about Von Mises. This lead us , in a round about way, to the collection of data by the NSA.
This young man was understandably upset about the collection of data… when it came to our collecting it on Swedes.
I smiled in understanding.
I explained, however, that really was not the problem. Of course he was dismayed, but I explained that he should worry more about his own government collecting data on Swedes should concern him more. I then went on to explain my belief that the Chinese are most likely collecting data on U.S. Citizens and while American’s should not be happy about such an endeavor, and do everything they can to stop it, I fear it less than my own government doing it to me.
I explained how tyranny and oppression come from within, not from external sources.
In other words, the Chinese will not be kicking in my door because I made some bureaucrat mad down at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or slept with an intelligence officer’s wife, be a member of the “wrong” political party and failed to comprehend then file the correct tax forms, etc. I then went on to cite history’s myriad examples of institutionalized tyranny which was enabled solely on a Governments ability to monitor the speech and actions of its citizenry and administer “punishment” which my not have been condoned but was approved by silence and or intimidation of the population.
Almost to his satisfaction, I finally agreed that our collecting information on the Swede’s should not be looked upon kindly by him and would not expect him to do so. I feel his pain…
This conversation turned into a discussion about how the United States was founded and why “we” are great.
I made it clear, and he agreed as I knew he would, that “we” are not great because of the individuals making up the United States but rather because of the structure of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
It was how we were set up… not some cosmic accident of our birth.
And that it is this structure that is being destroyed.
(This, of course, will come as surprise to many of our folks here at home just as it did to him hearing an American state it. It is exactly this surprise that should scare all of us back to our senses. It is this surprise that seems to be keeping us out of the streets in protest. It is this surprise that the very leaders a majority of us supported are the very people perpetuating the loss of the only thing we really own… our lives… our privacy… and the knowledge they shall not be infringed upon in any way.)
Well, our Rights ARE being infringed upon. It’s happening right now… right in front of us…
And, we’re being asked to rest soundly in the knowledge that if there is any “infringing” going on the ones doing the infringing will be sure to let themselves know… maybe… sometimes… occasionally…
And then, boy, they’ll do something about it… maybe… sometimes… occasionally…
But it has to remain secret, of course.
We don’t want the Terrorists to win…
(I suppose it could depend on how you define “win” as I could consider having all of my privacy ripped away at least “place” or “show”.)
Unfortunately, after decades of government education, for too many defense offered by NSA Domestic Spying supporters passes for logic.
The Communist Chinese must be smiling.
It seems we have more in common than we thought.
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