This is a very depressing time in the world, with the battle against terrorism being fought, and the victims of this battle are our civil liberties and personal freedoms!
The author is in Toronto on vacation, and just read this morning of a similar eavesdropping and snooping program being exposed in Canada, as it was revealed in the past few days in the United States that the National Security Agency is engaged in such a program of all phone calls and emails and other electronic communication. And we know the same thing is going on in Great Britain, France, Australia and all other “democracies” in this world, all of which are supposedly “better” than totalitarian or dictatorial regimes, which dominate much of the world.
It is hard NOT to be depressed, and to realize that no matter how many protests we might lodge, none of what is happening will ever change, and there are bound to be innocent victims, as there were in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and in the Cold War Era, but this present war on terrorism will likely NEVER be over, and therefore, all “democratic” governments will come to dominate and monopolize our lives and freedoms!
We are in the era of “1984”, George Orwell’s realistic novel, published in 1948, and in many ways, way beyond that stage of government control and interference in our lives. No matter who is elected President in the United States, or Prime Minister in Great Britain, Canada, or Australia, or President in France, as well as other “democratic nations”, we will never regain what we had, or thought we had, and we will have to be even more concerned when a leader or a political party in any of these nations becomes the government, and is a leader or party which we do not trust, which is inevitable!
So Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have won, and continue to win, no matter how many such individuals or groups we kill or destroy!
I wish to give credit here to one of my critics on this blog, Juan Domingo Peron (the name he uses), for making me reflect and realize that while I may trust Barack Obama, I would be alarmed if George W. Bush had been the one to authorize the NSA eavesdropping, or if in the future, any conservative Republican or Libertarian were to become the leader of our nation, because as he said, nearly half the population at any time does not trust whoever our President is!
A dose of reality set in when I read what Juan said, and while I want to trust Barack Obama and his good intentions, the bureaucracy of national security makes me worry about what is being done, and the reality that someday, maybe sooner or later, a leader will emerge who I will NOT trust!
So we all need to be sober and realistic about our struggle for civil liberties and personal freedoms to be preserved in a world gone mad in the fight against terrorism!
Ron: Thank you for the words of recognition. It demonstrates that even though we disagree powerfully on a variety of issues you have a noble soul.
I sense a certain depressing mood in you, so since I am by nature an optimist I would just like to share with you my thought that it is definitely not the end of the world and that the indomitable yearning for freedom of the human spirit will in the end always prevail. It’s an ongoing eternal struggle. We just have to know where to draw a line, a line which does not mean the abolition of the state or government , but a line that preserves our civil liberties and personal freedom. A line which we must make clear will not be crossed. Because you and I know , as well as millions of Americans, that without civil liberties and personal freedoms there can be no justice and without justice there can be no security.
As we speak this type of Big Brother is being resisted all over the world. For example, in Scotland of all places resistance to a so called “The Children and Young People Bill” that seeks to appoint a “named person†to each child in the country is underway. This person, outside of the child’s parents, would “promote, support or safeguard the well being of the child or young person.â€( http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_Bills/Children%20and%20Young%20People%20%28Scotland%29%20Bill/b27s4-introd.pdf )
We are not talking about social services here helping those in need, like single parents or children suffering from abuse, we are talking about every single child.
Here are some of the functions a named person would provide, according to the bill:
(a) doing such of the following where the named person considers it to be appropriate in order to promote, support or safeguard the wellbeing of the child or young person—
(i) advising, informing or supporting the child or young person, or a parent of the child or young person,
(ii) helping the child or young person, or a parent of the child or young person, to access a service or support, or
(iii) discussing, or raising, a matter about the child or young person with a service provider or relevant authority, and
(b) such other functions as are specified by this Act or any other enactment as being functions of a named person in relation to a child or young person.
The U.K.’s Express reported more on these roles back in May:
” Marion Samson, headteacher at Westquarter Primary and Nursery in Falkirk, is a ‘Named Person’ who says her role is to “challenge†families who are not bringing up their children properly!!??” ( http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/400779/SNP-bill-to-spy-on-parents-is-criticised-by-families )
-“According to a Scottish Government training document seen by this newspaper, the specific aim of GIRFEC is to undermine parents and give the “community” a greater role in raising children.
It states: “From the time that the child is a baby the family and the community should come together in oneness to raise the child so that the child can grow up to be a pillar of society.
“In so doing everyone benefits and the community is strengthened.”-
Can you imagine a bureaucrat challenging you on how you bring up your child? And if there is such a challenge, it would be your word against the “named person’s” word.
( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/10080013/Now-its-a-social-worker-for-every-child-in-Scotland.html )
Nevertheless , there is resistance and always will be.
( https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/members-of-the-scottish-parliament-reject-girfec-surveillance-and-named-person-for-every-child-in-scotland#intro )
Juan, thank you for your kind words! We indeed do share a lot in common, while disagreeing on many issues, but that makes for vigorous debate, and we have mutual respect for each other, which is crucial!
I am greatly alarmed at the news of this crazy, intrusive bill being considered in Scotland, something I was not aware of until just now, as I arrived home from my vacation in Toronto! Thanks for alerting me to this horrible news, which must not be allowed, and should not spread to other “democracies”!
Excellent article concerning the NSA news. It also shows Guano and Davy No Nothing that we progressives do give constructive criticism of the government.
http://www.winningprogressive.org/we-need-an-open-and-transparent-evalaution-of-nsa-spying