This past week's "revelation" that normal, everyday citizens of the United States are being spied on by the US intelligence community, and the outrage that has followed, I find a bit amusing. Anyone that has had the time, or fortitude, to read the Patriot Act, as well as understand the snooping possibilities of the Internet and communications world, was not at all shocked to "learn" the government is aggressively pursuing information showing where you are, what you are interested in and what you are doing. Law enforcement has ALWAYS tried to track people (legally and illegally). They are suspicious of everyone and everyone is guilty until proven innocent in their eyes (just observe a cop when you are pulled over, he holds on to that gun until he's convinced you are not a threat or a criminal). The FBI used(s) illegal wiretaps all the time to get dirt on people. What is scary is that ability is now legal and it isn't targeted just at interesting people and suspected criminals (think Hoover) . . . technology has made it possible to track EVERYONE. A law enforcement official's dream. That dream was realized when the Patriot Act passed all those years ago under the veil of so much warranted and unwarranted fear. Of all the legislation that has passed the past 20 years two actions could be considered a clear and present danger to the American public: The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and the passage of the Patriot Act.
I'm not sure what I think of Snowden . . . my
"mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore" self loves what he
did and, on its face, seems like a selfless brave act. My "why have
rules if no one follows them" self hates that someone so
insignificant (sorry!) working for a private company not only had access but the ability to
leak/whistle-blow what seems to be very detailed, serious and classified
information. I have a hard time thinking it's treason seeing that the
Patriot Act gave a lot of powers to the state and anyone paying
attention knew full well that EVERYTHING was being or was going to be
monitored. What concerns me most is private industry being more than
willing to provide the government access to their information. According to SCOTUS, corporations are people too . . .
I thought they'd stand up to protect their civil rights . . . oh well. In the end, it kinda' makes you want to walk away from your life, scream at the top of your lungs, unplug and dropout . . . much like a certain hero/traitor sitting in Hong Kong. At least Snowden isn't Ted Kaczynski, he used a much different method to get attention for his concern of technology, government and the future of the human condition.
BTW - The irony is not lost on me: I give these companies and the government information on me daily, willingly through Facebook and this blog - I'm sure this post is being filed in a FBI/CIA/NSA database keeping track of my "questionable" ramblings.
2 comments:
Of course I knew the NSA had the ability to record everything and pretty much knew they were (see NSA's secret room in AT&T's SF office a few years back), but it's most frustrating that the NSA, Congress, and the President lied about it for so long. It's even more anger-inducing that it comes under the watch of Obama who said he was going to be more open than W. Sadly, Obama is just more of the same.
Dennis, I agree. Those who should be watching the watchers betrayed the people.
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