Question Authority
Apr. 18th, 2007 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieIt's a trite-sounding phrase, isn't it? Reminiscent of the 70's and science-fiction conventions and general high-school angst. But underneath it is a genuine American principle: it's the people's job to keep a watchful eye on those in power, because sure as rain in Seattle, those we place in power will be inclined to abuse it if we don't watch out. This admittedly somewhat paranoid-sounding principle is threaded all throughout our Constitution. The co-equal triumvarate branches of government; the first ten constitutional amendments; the very declaration of "We the PEOPLE" - all balanced and designed as best as the framers could to prevent the creation of an over-powerful government, to keep power restricted and restrained as much as possible in order to let ordinary people get on with their lives with a minimum of interference. The framers placed an enormous trust in "the People," even though by the people they meant only those citizens eligible to vote (land-owning white males).
Today we're doing an amazingly crappy job of upholding our end of the bargain. We have pundits screaming that any questioning of executive power equates to treason. We have an executive branch blithely claiming "privilege" on emails that were sent through a private organization, even though said emails would have had to be sent using government accounts in order to qualify. (The claiming of privilege to protect emails that almost certainly expose the government's malfeance in using private, unprivileged and unregulated accounts to conduct government business is almost too farcical for words, but there it is.) And our government has passed laws whose sole purpose is in gathering massive databases of information about private citizens and their activities.
Sound paranoid? Think I'm exaggerating? Then open your eyes to this: H.R. 1132 [109th]: National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005. Yes, this little gem (courtesy of one of the worst Congresses in our history, the Rubber-Stamp 109th) is the reason why, less than two days after the terrible shootings at Virgina Tech, you can read the following statement: "Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files." (emphasis added). That's right: the government's files, not Cho's private medical records - which aren't so private after all.
Well, as much as I wish that someone had stopped Cho from doing what he did (preferably Cho himself, either by getting professional help, or at the very bare minimum by shooting himself first and foregoing shooting all those other people), I find the idea that the government had his prescription drug usage information immediately on file and to hand highly disturbing. Nor did my quick read-through of the act find any provisions precluding private organizations (like, say, insurance companies) from procuring that information. Not a comfortable thought.
And don't even get me started on this...
Look. Our government is our business. Ours to watch, mind, control, and keep in order, at least as much as they're attempting to do to us. Every single one of us can comment on pending legislation (as this was, and as the national ID card is currently) and make our opinions heard. Every single one of us can contact our representatives and senators and let them know in no uncertain terms where we think the privacy line should be. Every single one of us can do our little bit to enforce the idea that our personal, private information should remain personal and private. If we're not willing to do that...then we're giving up our right to privacy and protection. It's as simple as that.
Hat tip: Glenn Greenwald for writing the excellent post that got me ranting.
Today we're doing an amazingly crappy job of upholding our end of the bargain. We have pundits screaming that any questioning of executive power equates to treason. We have an executive branch blithely claiming "privilege" on emails that were sent through a private organization, even though said emails would have had to be sent using government accounts in order to qualify. (The claiming of privilege to protect emails that almost certainly expose the government's malfeance in using private, unprivileged and unregulated accounts to conduct government business is almost too farcical for words, but there it is.) And our government has passed laws whose sole purpose is in gathering massive databases of information about private citizens and their activities.
Sound paranoid? Think I'm exaggerating? Then open your eyes to this: H.R. 1132 [109th]: National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005. Yes, this little gem (courtesy of one of the worst Congresses in our history, the Rubber-Stamp 109th) is the reason why, less than two days after the terrible shootings at Virgina Tech, you can read the following statement: "Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files." (emphasis added). That's right: the government's files, not Cho's private medical records - which aren't so private after all.
Well, as much as I wish that someone had stopped Cho from doing what he did (preferably Cho himself, either by getting professional help, or at the very bare minimum by shooting himself first and foregoing shooting all those other people), I find the idea that the government had his prescription drug usage information immediately on file and to hand highly disturbing. Nor did my quick read-through of the act find any provisions precluding private organizations (like, say, insurance companies) from procuring that information. Not a comfortable thought.
And don't even get me started on this...
Look. Our government is our business. Ours to watch, mind, control, and keep in order, at least as much as they're attempting to do to us. Every single one of us can comment on pending legislation (as this was, and as the national ID card is currently) and make our opinions heard. Every single one of us can contact our representatives and senators and let them know in no uncertain terms where we think the privacy line should be. Every single one of us can do our little bit to enforce the idea that our personal, private information should remain personal and private. If we're not willing to do that...then we're giving up our right to privacy and protection. It's as simple as that.
Hat tip: Glenn Greenwald for writing the excellent post that got me ranting.
