We're doomed

I was listening to Day to Day on NPR a while ago (yes, I was. It's part of being a member of the liberal media fan club), and there was a report about how Americans are viewing the encroachment of government surveilance on their phones, email, etc.

What got me was the sheer idiocy of the chuckleheads that the reporter questioned. Almost all of them said something along the lines of, "why should I mind if I'm not hiding anything?" Well, Mr. or Mrs. Chucklehead, let me tell why you should mind- and why it's NOT an acceptable sacrifice to safety.

How about this. In the future, our administration decides (and it could do this without telling anyone initially- check out the secrecy of this administration if you doubt me) that they want to investigate all people who have a certain political leaning. Perhaps they'll decide that people who are members of the Green party are just too closely aligned to Al Quaida. Then they start looking. There is NOTHING to keep them from fishing expiditions if we accept their surveilance as part of doing business. So then they find something incriminating in an email. Perhaps a mention of an illicit substance that plenty of states have legalized for medical purposes. Then they send the homeland security boys into that person's house for a little look-see. Warrantless, of course, because that's an acceptable thing now, right?

What's wrong with this picture? That person shouldn't be smoking something illegal, or voting for the Green party, right? Well. Wrong. That person can vote and be in contact with whomever they want. Period. Part of doing business. And as far as the smoking thing goes- the jury is still out on whether or not the feds can crack down on that or if the states have jurisdiction.

I'm not a horribly paranoid person (well, maybe a little bit), but I don't have anything to hide. I also do not want the government, my neighbors, my family or my friends poking around in my business. I don't even want Kenga reading my emails without my permission. It's part of doing business in my book. It's my right as an American. It's my right as a person. And that I DO mind having chiseled away by the government. That is not ok by me.