So, it is official! As admitted by Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, our records are being queried by the U.S. government, yet again. How the hell does this keep happening? Why do we let it continue? I, for one, don't want the government to know anything about me. What gives them the right to steal my rights? Terrorists? If that's their answer, then it's a load of bull...
If you recall, it was the FBI, who was notified about suspicious individuals who signed up for pilot training years before September 11th, 2001, but they ignored it. They ignored a warning, which did not require wire-tapping, did not demand citizen watching, and was practically handed to them on a silver platter. Now their approach to evading national terrorist threats is to spy on its own citizenry? This is wrong folks. This needs to be stopped, and will require any governmental agency that wants information about its citizens to warrant their snooping actions.
In relation to this, I was reading another article concerning information gathering, and how one person gaining information about another, gives the receiver of it, a greater power over another individual. Bruce Schneier, indicates that, "If I disclose information to you, your power with respect to me increases". Which is a valid point here, because, relinquishing knowledge of myself, is basically giving up my life experience. My life experience is knowledge, and knowledge gives us power to move forward or have the upper hand in making decisions, or just getting through everyday life. It's not as if though I'd want to keep secrets, but I do not think it necessary that any other larger entity should take my power away from me. Especially since that power is relatively smaller than that of my governmental institution.
So, as not to turn this into political philosophy, all I really want to note here, is that by allowing this citizen data collection by the U.S. government, we are slowly allowing it to wear down out rights, and powers of liberty. Which could quite explain why we are losing so much control as country as it is. Just food for thought!
Sited articles:
Okay, I found this NPR transcript, and I want to thank the governor of Montana for standing up to this shit hole of a bureaucratic system we call the U.S. government. Basically, I revel in the fact that a major political figure has finally publically stood up to the Fed, and said go screw. If his state's citizens can't get on plane because their licenses do not comply with DHS standards, fine! It's not as if the airline industry is doing so bad as it is. Right? And who's going to have to clean up for this mess? You betcha! The same entity who made it in the first place, the stinkin' Fed. bureaucrat
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theseminal.com/2008/03/11/immigration-national-securityblah-blah-blah/