Ok, here goes...

This is atrocious.

For those that are concerned, I am not going to turn this into a political blog. I have definite views on the political environment, views that I am willing to discuss openly with anyone, but I strive not to force my opinion on anyone else. I have very close friends on all sides of the spectrum, and I see valid points made in all sorts of arguments. Having said that, I want to spend a little bit of time venting, if you will. If I can't vent in my own blog, well...the terrorists have won.

Government, regardless of who is in charge, sometimes goes too far.

One basic human right that I regard as being most precious is the right to have a private conversation. Let me be clear on this. Just because I want a conversation with a friend to be private doesn't mean I am, at the very same time, being subversive. The current fear-mongering spirit in government is equating privacy with subversiveness. One by one, our constitutionally guaranteed liberties are being eaten away in the name of temporary security. Little by little, our government starts to emulate the very systems which we are currently at war against.

To provide further clarity: The government should be allowed to open mail and tap phones. WITH JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT. There is a reason we have an executive, legislative, and judicial branch, and that reason is to provide checks and balances.

This has NOTHING to do with being a patriot, or a Republican, or a Democrat, or a Christian conservative, or a social liberal, or a terrorist. This has EVERYTHING to do with being a citizen in a free country.

The founding fathers rebelled and fought for the cause of personal and national liberty. In some cases, they died for it. In the most long-lasting and honorable cases, they lived their entire lives for it. We do them great dishonor when we take that away from ourselves.

I am not a conspiracy theorist (that ascribes too much organization ability to the federal government). I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat, either. I do not identify myself with political parties, as, like many of the nations founders, I find political parties loathsome. They force you to ascribe to the whole doctrine of the party, or to not ascribe to anything. I continue to exercise my rights as a citizen to vote, to speak, and, most importantly, to listen.

I dearly want this to change. I want to maintain my personal liberties. I want the freedom to hold conversations with friends within the privacy of my phone conversations and letters without unwarranted eavesdropping.

I do realize that I am not a target. I am a white male of European descent, naturally born here. I didn't choose that, but that is where God placed me. I am fully aware that the system is weighted in my favor, and it saddens me. I know that I cannot empathize with someone of Arabic descent who is also an American. Or someone of Asian descent. Or African descent. Or aboriginal to this land. You get the idea. However, I don't think that I should be silent because of my advantages. It is specifically because of my advantages that I should speak up. I have a voice, I need to use it.