Letters

Inside the mind of our government

Posted 6/24/14

To the Editor:

I loathe terrorism. It is the most heinous form of warfare, sparing no one, not even innocents.

The interview with Edward Snowdon and Brian Williams, NBC’s anchorman, tells us …

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Letters

Inside the mind of our government

Posted

To the Editor:

I loathe terrorism. It is the most heinous form of warfare, sparing no one, not even innocents.

The interview with Edward Snowdon and Brian Williams, NBC’s anchorman, tells us if nothing else, that this man loves his freedoms more than any false security. He has given up too much in order to inform us, to pull back the curtain, bringing national attention to what can only be called an illegal seizure of powers rubber stamped by our very own representatives. These powers are being ruthlessly exercised by our national security agencies. The trauma of 9/11 has handed these agencies a convenient cover to extend their powers over the American citizenry.

Since 9/11, with the passage of the Patriot Act, and home security, the rights of the people have been suspended and the Constitution that protects these rights eviscerated. If you become their target, you are denied representation by legal counsel, a trial of your peers, and may be forced to forfeit not only your property, but your very own life. You will be subject to warrantless wiretaps, and in extreme cases whisked on a plane and never heard of again. All this in the name of keeping terrorists at bay!

Any informed citizen would have to ask, “Is the price too high?” Has national security overreached its mandate and set in motion policies that can take a law-abiding citizen and turn him into an enemy of the state? It is Mr. Snowdon’s intent, I believe, to inform us of this present danger. Data from our landline phones and cell phones have been monitored daily under the bulk security policy in which every word you say is interpreted by faceless bureaucrats within the national security agencies. Say the wrong word, and red flags go up.

What I am describing is a police state, a state that unaccountably violates the highest law in the land, our Constitution, protects our inalienable rights; not rights bestowed by government, but a higher power, depending on your persuasion of belief.

Perhaps George Orwell’s novel “1984” was prophetic, just a little early. It has been said that those who surrender their liberties for security’s sake will lose both.

I would invite anyone who is of a like mind to help create a legal fund for a fair hearing of the allegations made against Edward Snowdon.

Robert S. Ide

Warwick

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