A letter from my son:
Dear Editor,
I am writing today as a concerned citizen of this great nation. With the Homeland Security bill now passed, I fear that we have just instilled upon ourselves the theorized state of Big Brother. This bill pretty much allows the government to gather information on US citizens without needing permission of any kind. I see this as being in direct violation to our civil liberties and to the basis of our nation. Our nation was founded on the notions of free speech, which includes the right to speak our minds of the government. However, I feel that right is in danger. I know many people who now fear speaking out against the government publicly, because to do so might make you a “potential terrorist” in the minds of the govt. By simply placing my name on this document I risk being labeled a “terrorist” for speaking against the government. Under this bill that means they can monitor everything about your life, e-mail, Internet use, travel, credit-card purchases, phone and bank records, etc. Add this too the already existing information the government has; passport application, driver's license records, judicial and divorce records, your lifetime paper trail, etc, and you have your entire life being viewed through a microscope. Now, when a person fears speaking out against his or her government for any reason, I think something is seriously wrong. This is a basic right granted by our constitution.
Some might argue that the bill has the best intentions and that it is for our own safety and the safety of our loved ones. This is true. With more snooping power the government will be more able to find terrorists from within, but we must ask ourselves this question. Is it worth our freedoms? There is a balance to be achieved, a balance between freedom and safety. While we can have both, we can not be entirely free and entirely safe at the same time. For if we are free, we may hurt others, and in order to ensure that we are safe from such hurt we create laws and we create agencies to enforce those laws that inevitably hinder our freedoms somewhat. So the question is; where do we draw the line? How much freedom are we willing to sacrifice for safety? Where is the point where we say, that’s enough, I want my freedom? I say that point is now. I am willing to sacrifice the safety of myself, and the safety of my family to defend my freedom and the freedom of others.
So the question becomes, what can we do about it? Call our congressmen? Write our president? I’ve tried those measures, I’ve contacted those meant to represent me, even those of supposedly like mind, and yet they have continued to vote for these invasions of privacy. So, what do we do now? The answer is simple; we must show our leaders that we will not stand for such an invasion of our rights. We must protest at every corner, in every city, at every chance we get to let them know that we are the American people, and we will not stand to be insulted like this! It is our birth-right as US citizens to speak our minds, and we should not let that right be quelled for any reason. I hope that we as a people, will have the strength to stand up for what is right. For if we do not stand against our own government when it is in err, it shall only continue to err until it destroys the nation. And if we should choose to not stand and face our problems, and we instead choose to blame our problems on others, than we will have failed in our responsibilities as a people of a free nation.
A concerned citizen of these United States
Andrew Barrett
