We've known for a while now that federal agencies collect data about our communication. Recently, The New York Times reported that a federal court ruled a formerly covert NSA bulk phone surveillance program illegal. While the legislative fallout from this decision is yet to be determined, the ruling represents an important judiciary milestone in the use of technology to spy on our own citizenry. We shouldn't need to fear our own government when we speak.
Think about the conversations you've had with your closest friends. Consider the words you've spoken in private that you later regretted. Recall the tears you've shed over the phone with family after the death of a loved one, or the intimate whispers you've shared with someone you love. Does anyone else have a right to hear these secrets? Should we have to speak every word fearful of reciprocity, suspecting that somewhere, another pair of ears is listening, filing, classifying, and cataloging us? We have all said things we didn't mean, or things we wished we could take back. We can not allow ourselves to live in a world where these ostensibly private utterances are used against us.
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Think about the conversations you've had with your closest friends. Consider the words you've spoken in private that you later regretted. Recall the tears you've shed over the phone with family after the death of a loved one, or the intimate whispers you've shared with someone you love. Does anyone else have a right to hear these secrets? Should we have to speak every word fearful of reciprocity, suspecting that somewhere, another pair of ears is listening, filing, classifying, and cataloging us? We have all said things we didn't mean, or things we wished we could take back. We can not allow ourselves to live in a world where these ostensibly private utterances are used against us.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...