Or, what are we really afraid of?
While I have much empathy for the many dKos editorials and diaries decrying the Executive branch's blatant disregard for the rule of law in its use of warrant-less wiretaps, I can't help but wonder: What is it that we are so afraid of in the government's interception or capture of electronic information?
I mean, the 4th Amendment didn't exactly anticipate the electronic age, did it? Having someone stop you in the streets or physically invade your home isn't quite the same as trying to suss information from the incredibly fast moving ocean of information in the cyberworld...
Could it be that we are consciously or subconsciously aware of the fact that we do not, and have never truly lived in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?
For How Are We Free if laws regarding bedroom practices, sexual preferences, mutual consent, individual drug use, equal opportunity and expression are patchwork across the land -- sometimes state or locally controlled, sometimes federal, sometimes all in conflict with one another?
In addition to encouraging our Congressional branch of government to enforce their own laws that legitimately check the powers of the Executive branch, are there any prominent voices asking for a constitutional guarantee of explicit Freedom of Expression? For example, one can go to JAIL for being Naked (gasp) with no overt threat to anyone! Many constitutional scholars are fond of extolling this as a virtue of the Constitution, i.e., it's good to let "community standards" prevail, but what about individual rights in the face of the tyranny of democracy; how do we bend our minds around this type of inconsistency? Aren't we tired enough yet of the flag burning yammering from the so called patriotic "leaders" of our "homeland"? Aren't we sick about the collateral damage at home and in foreign countries caused by our completely irrational drug laws that deny us the freedom of individual choice (with provisions for responsibility of course)? Isn't it time to start a federal campaign to ensure that no one can be denied an Equal chance for quality schooling and that nobody should be subjected to harassment based on one's sexual practices? Damn our short attention spans and narrow solutions built on the vapors of whoever happens to be in power!
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Or How Are We Brave if we are afraid that perhaps the government might find out from our electronic footprints that we are engaging in some behavior that isn't exactly, well, honest or ethical? Information on tax cheats, infidelities, various irresponsibility's, shady business deals, hate speech, physical abuse, child abuse and other various evasions of the law all hide out in the electronic universe along with the threat of terrorism.
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So.... what are you really afraid of, and what are you going to do about it? For myself, I'm going to keep encouraging existing lawmakers to care about freedom and responsibility and to foster an education system that gives each person a truly equal chance at succeeding in this crazy human experience...