I don’t know if Edward Snowden is a hero or a traitor. But I do know that what he revealed is alarming and NO ONE is contradicting what he claims.The NSA (National Security Agency) is copying the call logs of everyone, who has a phone, and storing that information in a huge new data storage facility in Utah. The reason we are being given is that they need that information to catch terrorists and keep us safe. They tell us that they don’t get the content of our calls, just the numbers we call and who calls us.

That sounds OK until you start to really think about it. If they can see every number you call and every number that calls you they can pretty much reconstruct your interests and make educated guesses about your life. Now, if the people analyzing your data have pure motives it isn’t a problem. But what if people have bad intentions and want to control you, they have your life at their disposal. We are being asked to “trust the government” that they are just looking out for us and our safety. But the huge issue is the storage of your data so that anytime, anyone who has access to the data can look into your life. This is a very dangerous power if corrupt individuals or parties decide to utilize it. Just imagine political parties getting access to this data and what they could do to help their friends and damage their enemies.

The Fourth Amendment is clear. The government is not allowed to search our private papers or effects without a search warrant based on probable cause. Our founding fathers were very distrustful of government power. That is why they gave us the Bill of Rights found in the constitutional amendments, to keep the government from getting too much power. The NSA is violating our fourth amendment rights in the name of curbing terrorism and, supposedly, to make our nation safer. The NSA uses the Patriot Act as legal cover for what they are doing.

Freedom has always been risky. The American experiment with freedom has exposed us to violent risks in order to preserve our freedom. The question is, has Americans decided it is now worth it to trade our freedom from government searches for safety from harm from terrorists? This is the tradeoff our government says we need to be safer. As for me, I would rather be a little less safe in order to be a lot more free.

It has always been true that a dictatorship can handle threats more efficiently than a messy representative republic that gives the citizenship power and freedom from government interference. Americans have always stood for freedom over tyranny. But are we willing to allow government tyranny in order to be a little more safe? By giving away our freedoms are we not letting threats to our safety drive us to accept tyranny? There’s a nasty word for that, actually, it is “extortion.”

The stark reality of this loss of freedom became clear when Senator Rand Paul told CBS News that when the NSA briefed congress about these programs that the congressmen were sworn to secrecy under threat of jail if they disclosed any of this information to the public or anyone unauthorized to hear the details. All this was done in the name of “National Security.”

What we have, now, is a huge bureaucracy in the NSA and IRS gathering data on all Americans and dictating to our elected congressmen and women, who are supposed to oversee all government activities, what they can and can’t say to us, the electorate. All government employees and elected officials are supposed to be our servants. We, the people, ARE the United States of America. Government officials now act like we the people must be kept in the dark about what they are doing. It is obvious, to me, that if we are not well informed that we cannot make wise choices about who we want to represent us, as our servants, in government.

I have lost all respect for many longstanding congressional representatives since this program has come to light. Every public official who defends these programs as necessary for “national security” seems, to me, to be fully invested in the belief of the NSA bureaucracy being the rulers of we the people rather than the way our constitution gives US the full authority over our government servants. What we have, in effect, is the tail wagging the dog.

The question before us is, are we willing to sit on our hands while the government takes away our freedoms? Or are we ready to stand up for our freedoms guaranteed in the United States Constitution? I know it is getting dangerous to stand up for our rights and freedoms we have long had. But what is more important to us, our freedom or our safety? Remember, we get the government that we allow. So, if we sit back and complain but do nothing about losing our freedoms, we only have ourselves to blame. Get involved. Sign petitions. Call your representatives. Make some noise. It is our duty as freeborn Americans.

Ben Thatcher
Blue Ridge, GA