Remember, YOU have nothing to hide...

The title of this post is sarcastic. We've all got stuff to hide, stuff that we want to keep private. We don't want the world at large to know details about things like our bank accounts, the number of speeding tickets we've had, or anything else that really is none of their business unless we choose to share it with them. I hate the Patriot Act. Among the reasons why I hate that abomination is because it has set a precedent for actions like this:

The FBI illegally collected 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or persuading phone companies to provide them says the Washington Post.
~ The Crime Report, 1/19/2019

Now, perhaps I am a starry eyed Pollyanna. Maybe some sneaky bastards down there in DC changed things like the principles that the government of this country has been founded on. Quick, let's check to see if the Declaration of Independence has been edited.... Hmm... looking at the text that's available Google can't find any evidence that it's been changed. And I am pretty sure that something that is as much of a bureaucratic mess as the government of the United States can keep a scandal as large as something crazy like that quiet. Looks like there's no new amendments that strip away the protections of the 4th Amendment either.

Listen up kids, this is gonna be something big and I want you all to get it right. If you have to, take notes, tattoo it on your forehead, or do what ever else you need to so that you can remember it:

The Patriot Act and the precedent set for spying upon the citizenry of this nation is UNCONSITUTIONAL because it VIOLATES the 4th Amendment.

Oh, I know, some folks are going to stand there and tell me that I'm over simplifying. I'm going to tell them that they are cowards who are willing to trade their liberty, mine, and that of my children for the ILLUSION of security that is dangled out infront of them by the government. It is none of the government's business what I do in my private life. If there is an accusation that I am breaking the law, I am innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof rests upon my accusors.

The 4th Amendment is in place to prevent things like the flagrant abuse of people's rights in the case where their car was used to commit a crime that they were not involved in, and now the owner is deprived of their posessions even after that case has been closed. Oh, and if you think I'm just pulling that example out of my hat, it was actually in the news a few weeks ago. The 4th Amendment is in place to prevent the erosion of personal property rights, as was blatantly done by the Supreme Court back a few years ago with that decision on emement domain. You know, the one that says the village wanting to take your house for making a parking lot, which fails in town council but after your house has been seized is legal.

There's a reason why there has been so much action taken to turn the 4th Amendment into as much of a foot note in the consciousness of the people of the United States as the 3rd Amendment is. Just like I said in my argument against mayoral control of a school district, this is a movement to disenfranchise the people. Where as the first is part of a campaign to render the right to vote useless in the minds of the people, the campaign to functionally nullify the 4th Amendment is focused upon having us surrender our privacy and individuality. George Orwell warned against this in his book 1984.

This silent campaign to disenfranchise the nation is part of the rise of fascisim. The blanket hatred of Islam and those who practice this religion, as well as of those who are apologists for it, has the same stink as the anti-semitism that came with the last incarnation of fascisim. Fascisim has been responsible for some of the world's greatest tragedies in modern history. If we have to, let's look at the painfully obvious examples of the Concentration camps of Nazi Germany.

The actions of the government to undermine the 4th Amendment and other rights of the people may not be those of Brownshirts, but it's still an exercise of fascisim. It's perhaps even more hideous because it is being done under color of law. Remember one of the biggest proponents of abusing their people under color of law was Stalin. Do we really want to go there?

We need to oppose all actions of the government to strip us of our rights. Even if they claim it is for our own good or the good of our children. Each time I am told that if I am innocent that I should not be afraid, I feel disgusted. This is the same approach that was taken by the Inquisitors. People were tortured into confessing. People were turned in to them for the basis of political or monetary gain. We stand poised on the precipice of seeing such things return in a new and horrific fashion.

Failure to oppose this is not an option. Not if we're to remain a free people.