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PoliticsOL.com Editorial - Week of July 8, 2001
USA - Under Surveillance Always
America's Diminishing Personal Privacy
Although the actual word " privacy" does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, the document is full of protections to "secure the blessings of liberty" for Americans.
The Bill of Rights, the Constitution's first ten amendments, spells out the limits of governmental power over the citizenry: freedom of religion, speech, the press, to peaceably assemble, etc.
In the 4th Amendment, the Founding Fathers, fed up with the nearly unlimited governmental control imposed under former British rule, quite clearly set strict limits on federal powers in the young, new nation when it pertained to personal privacy.
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, far too many governmental officials believe that "reasonable" permits the following:
Digitally undressing travelers - quite literally - on security monitors in major airports, ostensively to allow personnel to view weapons or drugs hidden beneath one's clothing.
Allowing the FBI complete surveillance of all Internet e-mail with its much controversial "Carnivore" system.
Authorizing police units to use high-tech devices to monitor temperatures inside a private home to help determine as to whether the conditions might favor the cultivation of marijuana.
Installing cameras at intersections across the country to take photographs of cars who allegedly run red lights, then mailing the licensed driver the ticket (thus allowing insurance companies to substantially increase the amount of moving violations amongst their insureds and, thereby, give cause to increase the rates for those drivers, so much so that some insurers even willingly foot the bill to install many of these cameras).
Randomly ordering Los Angeles students to line up against school blackboards, where they are then frisked for weapons.
Permitting highway patrols to routinely set up "checkpoints", stopping all traffic in attempts to discover any intoxicated drivers who might be driving by at the time.
Allowing police officers to arrest, strip search and temporarily jail protestors for even minor infractions, such as jay-walking.
Permitting the city of Tampa to install cameras throughout the city to monitor citizens walking, driving, and just about anything else within range of the cameras lenses, just in case the equipment happens to catch someone involved in a criminal act.
If the elected and appointment officials who concocted these schemes were around in the 1790's, the successful revolutionaries would likely have rounded them all up and shipped them on a boat back to Britain.
Equally disturbing are invasions of personal privacy by the private sector and the refusal by the Congress and the Courts to limits such actions.
Car rental companies monitoring the whereabouts of their automobiles around the clock with Global Positioning Satellites as a means to be able to issue hefty fines to drivers found to have exceeded local speed limits.
Supreme Court decisions allowing the news media to enter and film events inside personal residences without the permission of the owner.
Paparazzis stalking and harassing celebrities and publishing unauthorized photographs taken on, above or zooming in on their private property without their consent.
Sale of individuals' banking and credit card records to other financial institutions for marketing purposes.
Employers researching applicants' medical records to see if their health insurance premiums might go up.
Cable television providers who want to monitor the channels their subscribers are watching in order to sell marketing information to advertisers.
Tracking of individuals' grocery store purchases and selling the data to manufacturers -- and charging higher prices to those customers who refuse to use so-called "club cards".
...and so on and so on and so.
We are told by government and corporate officials that such constant surveillance and invasions of personal privacy is necessary to combat crime and, most especially, international terrorism.
Well, if international terrorism is such a threat that the United States is slowly being transformed into a virtual police state (and there are plenty of government officials who would feel just fine with that, many more than you think), then it is time for the Congress to use its constitutional powers and formally declare war against nations that harbor, sanction and aid international terrorists. Let's go after these outlaws with a vengeance, just as though they were an attacking enemy, because they are.
But, if the Congress and the Executive Branch fail to call or take such action, then they are merely using "international terrorism" as an excuse to shred the Constitution's protections on civil liberties that would fill even former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover with envy.
If the Congress and the Courts refuse to stop the increasing assaults on personal privacy, then the only remedy left is for the citizenry to give the boot to such officials at the voting booth. It's your choice.
PoliticsOL.com reserves the right to shorten or to edit letters for clarity. Only signed letters will be considered for publication. (i.e., include name, city & state of residence)
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The Bill of Rights, the Constitution's first ten amendments, spells out the limits of governmental power over the citizenry: freedom of religion, speech, the press, to peaceably assemble, etc.
