Our Modern Times, Terrorism, and Our Rights

Admittingly, the world is a dangerous place, with terror incidents occurring in a number of countries around the world. We’ve been at war against terror for over 12 years now, and the actors of bombings, mass murders, and such, have even been in our own country.

Inside the United States, our Law Enforcement, Federal and local, have had to constantly upgrade their training, their exercise of enforcement, and the weapons and tools to counter such threats.

Along with all that, we have technological advancements available to citizens. We have cell phones and smart phones and laptop computers, enabling us to work wirelessly from most anywhere in the country, if not the world. What we hold in our hands today, can do more than the biggest of computers many decades ago. We can conduct business, communicate (voice, text, visual) with friends and family, take and share photos, and search the world of Internet news and information, all while sitting on a park bench thousands of miles away from home.

This also means that any potential “bad guy” has all those same technological advantages. And our Law Enforcement (Fed, State & Local) have their hands full to combat the every growing advantages the “bad guys” have to conduct their evil intentions.

So what do our Law Enforcers do? They use every technological advantage they can, balanced with the constitutional rights of lawful citizens. That’s a tall order, indeed. And with the goal of gaining an advantage, our leaders wrote and passed, The Patriot Act. That act, gives Law Enforcement extended powers to get easier access to communications on potential terrorists.  Many thought from the start such an act went too far, and permitted the government to have too easy of an access to private information. And we have learned recently that our National Security Agency (NSA) has gained access to millions of citizens phone calls, internet searches, texts, emails, on-line photos, etc. Of those millions and millions of data bits on ALL OF US, the NSA does not know who might be the “bad guys”, so they cast the big net to gather information on everybody.

So, what of our Fourth Amendment - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

But the Patriot Act seems now to allow our Law Enforcement (government) to bypass our 4^th amendment, for the purpose of national security and to go after the terrorists.

Now, if a citizen has no terrorist ties, and hasn’t anything to hide, the government is saying, “Hey, it’s for the safety of our nation, so it’s okay.” But is it?

What IF, someone who gets access to an innocent citizens data, and because of some unauthorized reason, uses some information to get back at someone? Maybe for revenge on a personal matter? Or for a friend, who wants to use it for a child custody dispute? What about gathering embarrassing information, and use that to extort money from a fellow citizen? And then there’s the potential for using such information for an edge over political enemies?

All it takes is for just ONE person with unbridled power, to be less than a top professional in seeking ONLY terrorists, for the abuse to start. And once it starts, then all bets are off. THAT is why the 4^th amendment  exists, and it says it “shall not be violated”. But it is. For the sake of finding the “bad guys”, all “good guys” are subject to losing our civil rights.

I’m not okay with that. And sadly, I understand the difficulty our Law Enforcers are having, but I’m still against the seemingly unbridled power the government has taken. So, what is the answer? Where IS the balance?

Part of the answer, in MY view, is for us, and that means YOU and ME, to help be the eyes and ears of Law Enforcement. We need to be more diligent in reporting suspicious people. But be prepared, reporting suspicious people or activities will be more often be a false alarm than not. But from that reporting, those Federal and Local Law Enforcers can then take a closer look to see if THAT information fits the criteria for then going into the privacy of those suspicious people, and a properly documented and sworn-to application for a search warrant can then be obtained. Not obtained for all of us, but obtained by particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized . Having someone report a suspicious person or activity, would be like a National Crimestoppers! (I’ve used Crimestoppers information in the past, to conduct Narcotics Investigations, and it is a good tool.)

Such a call  by itself should not be the sole basis for a search warrant, but once alerted, authorities can check against other intel, and then move to the next step. (It called, investigating!)

But if “we, the people” place all of the onus on Law Enforcement to deal with evil, then be prepared for Law Enforcement to find other ways to do their difficult jobs!

Giving up essential freedoms, for the sake of security, is a most dangerous proposition. And freedoms once given up, might not ever be recovered.

God Bless America’s Peace Keepers, Law Enforcers, and the American Citizen!