Slow and steady–that’s how tyranny grabs at our throats, so we’re already blacking out by the time we realize we are being strangled. People always gawk at how well-intentioned and sane Germans allowed the Nazi Party to rise to such prominence. It was a slippery slope; consecutive decisions were fairly rational, but from beginning to end it looks like madness.
Slow and steady–that’s how madness comes about. A few symptoms may not warrant a diagnoses, but they should prompt further testing. There’s a new abscess growing on the giant’s neck: the senate’s approval of the surveillance law. You may have a hard on for telecomm companies, you may care about military security more than individual liberty, or maybe you just think the FBI is badass. I won’t try to tell you that this, in and of itself, signifies the onset of some dystopian tyranny. But I will tell you it’s not going to stop here.
Slow and steady–that’s how the United States government is realizing it can stop pretending to care about freedom. Habeus corpus was a pile of crap anyway, right? And they’re only going to be wiretapping people suspected of terrorist involvement, right?
Slow and steady–that’s how liberty dies. First it’s no surveillance, then it’s surveillance under certain circumstances, then it’s just constant surveillance.
If you think it’s going to stop here, history is going to punch you in the mouth. And if you think constant surveillance will finally give them the tools they need to do their job–well, don’t wait up for me when I go missing.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Im less disappointed in Obama for signing this bill than I am for myself in believing that this was preventable.
And dont think encryption is going to save you:
woops
Anyone want to place bets on how long it’ll be before “encrypting personal communication” is an admission of guilt.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:51 am
I think I’m going to end up in Canada or Switzerland so as not to be part of this police-state.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:04 am
goddamnit man, once they’ve gotten YOU, all of my comments on your blog are going to lead them straight to ME
thanks a lot, now you’re dragging all of us down with you
goddamn upstart
July 11th, 2008 at 5:12 am
They seem rational when we are susceptible to the politics of fear, as we are.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I agree with guthrie Newfoundland (my second home) is sounding really nice with all this crap going on here.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Running away neither stops, nor solves the problem. It only avoids the inevitable. The time to act is now. But what to act is uncertain.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Also, those who can leave have privilege; the poor and oppressed are left behind to deal with even worse circumstances.
It’s a pretty serious problem.
July 12th, 2008 at 9:52 am
The government as a whole stopped caring about freedom long ago. We are well on our way to a 100% tyrannical state.
I agree, it is a serious problem that has to be dealt with. Another problem is, however, that many will turn to the government, the source of the problem, to try to fix it.
July 12th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
And that is why I say we must create alternative substructures (vernacular institutions as I call them)–so when things fall apart, we have somewhere to turn.