Living in America is a symbol of freedom to so many people. Think about it... why do we have such a large issue with illegal aliens? People around the world look at the United States of America as it truly being the land of the free but the unfortunate thing is that we are continuing that slogan only in a dream world anymore -- little by little we are losing are freedoms and the biggest problem is that we're all too lazy to do anything about it.
"Fight terrorism and "stop child porn" is what we are continually told and these are both very important things to be done, however, we need to start understanding what that is actually worth giving up. If it eventually comes down to the law requiring each one of us to be on government video cameras at all times, including in our bedrooms, is it still worth it? I know that it sounds like I'm over-reacting and going to the extreme but the truth is that the path we are on could lead us to that scenario. Every year we lose more and more of our privacy and our rights are citizens of The United States of America but our government assures us that it's ok because its all in the interest of stopping terrorism and protecting our children. Is it?
So the reality that we are going to have video cameras in our homes so that the government can watch us is not something we'll see soon and, of course, if it does happen, it would need to be after they obtain a warrant. How about the government knowing exactly where you're car is at any given time of the day? If you think that sounds extreme, think again. The truth is that Wisconsin has decided that secretly attaching a GPS to a private car does not require a warrant. Believe me, I am not against technology being used to fight crime but in an era where the DoJ requests $233 million for improvements to technology crime fighting, don't you think the power being given to law enforcement needs to be kept in check with warrants?
There is a reality that it seems the American public doesn't want to face, and understandably so. We don't want to have to think that we need to watch out for our government because we have enough other stuff on our plate. Almost anyone will say that our politicians are corrupt but when it comes to actually doing something about it we make excuses and say that it really isn't all THAT bad. I remember when I first argued Net Neutrality with my family and the response that I received was simply that "there is no way that they could ever get away with that".... and then years later, Comcast is attacked over P2P filtering and then pays it's employees to fill seats in the FCC hearing. But don't worry, Comcast isn't the worst offender of our rights -- at least not when you look at AT&T who has been a major player in the NSA illegal spying on citizens. But again, we don't really need to worry about that because now Obama is finally in office and he is all about protecting our rights.... Wait... What? Obama is worse than Bush?
Ok, so we've got problems... but we're obviously still better than other places because this isn't a global issue, right? Well, Canda and Europe don't seem to think so considering they are purposely routing a lot of internet traffic to avoid the US because of the fear of the Patriot Act. Not only is it an example of the seriousness of the act but it also is hurting our economy and our jobs.
As Americans we are really under an attack but that attack is being fed to us with a sweet sugar coating. If we truly want to retain our rights and our privacy, we really need to start getting involved and writing our politicians. We're making it entirely too easy for them to corrupt our nation more and more because, well, as far as they are concerned no one sees their corrupt actions (except maybe Jane Harmon [VIDEO]). We need to stand up and let our congressmen know that we do not approve.
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