I was a Republican (now moving ever more towards Libertarianism). I'm just shocked at how much personal liberty we've given away in the last 25 years.
Everyone I heard on the news saying they had "No Problem" with this - no matter WHO did/is doing it - has said, "I have nothing to hide!" It's unfortunate, but I honestly think we're moving more and more towards the sentiment in the following poem:
Quote:
First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
-Pastor Martin Niemöller
|
Replace "Communists" with "Terrorists" and you might see what I mean.
Maybe not now...but I don't like how wide the net has been cast. If they're monitoring everyone's calls, then everyone is a suspect. Make no mistake about it, although 99.9% of the time this will be used properly, there WILL be abuses of this. Ask the Clintons about the tax records that they obtained - no matter how legally. (Although I bring up the Clintons specifically, don't focus on that.... Politicians being the seedy sort that they are, abuses will not be partisan.)
We're just that much closer to living under a police state.