Free Speech, Government Monitoring, Oppression by Taxation

You are right to be concerned, particularly since the line from representative government to Big Brother keeps getting closer and thinner all the time. The need to use technology to assist national security is paramount, however.

The real concern is “who watches the  watchers.”

That is the job of our Representatives and Senators. I would offer that when you have no fear of your Speech being used against you, even if it’s monitored for security reasons, you are OK.

However, if your Speech becomes circumspect, your communications, particularly regarding political opinion and expression, become guarded solely because of the fear that government will use your Speech against you in some way, then real or not, that fear needs mitigation through constant independent overview on behalf of the Citizenry.

That affirmation includes a process of “auditing” actions taken by government regarding any individual as a result of monitored Speech, and the reporting thereon to the public.

My own fear is that by the time we discover that the government has acted against those who oppose it, it will be too late.

To paraphrase, “If the government can knock on your neighbor’s door in the middle of the night, how long until you hear a knock?”

The current controls on communications monitoring seem to be within the needs of security, SO LONG AS THE REPORTING AND MONITORING ARE CAREFULLY MONITORED THEMSELVES  AND INDEPENDENTLY REPORTED.

It might also help to remember that in regards to all these things, that the Founders intended the Second Amendment regarding the ownership of guns to provide for self-defense. So long as every American has a rifle and guns, it is unlikely that any government would attempt a “hard coup” to install any other dictatorship.

There are other ways to oppress Americans, some of which we are experiencing with our current government.

It’s simple really. The lifeblood of a consumer-based economy is commerce; buying and selling by business and consumers. The fuel that drives this process is income. Taxes subtract from the income stream-the fuel needed to support the economy and prosperity-and reduce people’s and business’s ability to succeed. If you want to help the greatest amount of people, reduce taxes. 

via newsflavor.com

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