Not Just Surveilance

  

     What if I were to tell you that every text, call, Facebook post, tweet, email, or other form electronic message you send is being collected, read/listened to, and analyzed. What if i went on to tell you that this has been going on for probably as long as you've been using these electronic messages. Your first reaction is probably that the proper authorities need to be contacted. But, what if these authorities are the ones doing the spying? Well, this is no longer the cry of your creepy uncle who posts a few too many Facebook statuses a day.

     For more than a decade the governments security agency, the NSA, has been partaking in this massive operation to collect and analyze electronic messages sent both domestically and internationally.  This is a blatant infringement upon rights guaranteed to United State citizens as outlined in the fourth amendment which protects United States citizens from improper intrusion into their lives from the government. while at the moment this is certainly an injustice, many find it to be an unavoidable evil, citing the protective benefits outweighing the violation of our rights. But if violations such as this are allowed, at what point will these violations cease? effectively, by allowing our right to be violated on a minor scale, the United State's populace is giving the go ahead for further intrusion and rights violations. It is a very slippery slope when a populace's apathy leads to inaction at blatant intrusions upon the quality of their own lives. 

     It is understandable that some would argue that the good of the NSA's spying outweighs the negative, citing protection from terrorist attacks and other forms of harm being more important than protecting what we say and do in private. While it is important to ensure national security, a nation built upon "freedoms" should not turn around and strip its people of those freedoms. It is possible to both provide security and ensure that citizens rights our not infringed upon. 

     It is critical that citizens break the shackles of apathy and further research the actions of the NSA, as well as the implications of these actions, for themselves and see the breadth of the situation. In a world where electronic communication and use of the internet are standard procedure, personal privacy while using these applications is invaluable.