My Right To Privacy

This is an email I sent to Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine, Sen. Tom Coburn, and Sen. Jim Inhofe today. I would encourage you to express your feelings to your government as well.

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Representative,

I’m a husband, a father, a brother, a son, an employee, a volunteer, and a citizen of this country. I am not a terrorist. And yet I’m being treated like one by my own government. It’s perplexing to me and I want to take a minute to write to you and express my disgust, and outrage, over this fact.

I have the right to text my wife I’ll be home late from work without my government knowing. I have the right to send an email to my business clients, letting them know I completed their project, without the government knowing. I have the right to search for, and purchase, a book on Amazon.com without my government knowing. I have the right to “Like” the Facebook page of author Richard Dawkins without my government knowing. I have these rights, guaranteed to me by the constitution, and yet my government likely knows all of these things about me. They read my emails. They read my texts. They watch what I buy and browse online. This is a fundamental violation of my civil rights as an American. It disgusts me and it should disgust you.

The leaks provided by Edward Snowden on the NSA and their PRISM program are devastatingly revealing of a government bent on undermining one of the essential threads of the fabric of our society: the right to privacy. The NSA, and other government intelligence agencies, have systematically lied to congress, and by proxy, the American people, about the programs and policies they undertake. In their effort to fight the “war on terror”, they have seized broad powers for themselves, with little to no government oversight.

I understand the need for intelligence gathering in today’s world. I understand the need to protect America from global threats, both foreign and domestic. If terrorism has shown us anything it is that one or more suicidal fundamentalists can cause dramatic, widespread, and generational, devastation to us with little effort. I do not want my government to stop the efforts to keep us safe. But doing so at the cost of all of our privacy is too great a price to pay. I am not willing to sacrifice my privacy, for the safety that is the claimed reward. You shouldn’t be either.

We may disagree on school vouchers, healthcare, subsidies, the role of government concerning foreign entanglements, and other important issues. But surely we agree that the right of privacy for American citizens is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution. Surely we agree that the freedom of privacy must be fought for as ardently today as it was by the soldier fighting in Normandy, or the seaman fighting in Midway.

When you took your seat in office, you swore an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States. I believe you meant that oath. Please uphold that oath by defending the constitution and holding to the fire the feet of those who would usurp her.

Regards,

Steven Copley
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Tantrums

While reading about parenting, I was reminded of some adults I’ve encountered in life:

“If the parents don’t respond in an effective way, the child learns that having a meltdown or a temper tantrum will help him accomplish a goal. When a child is in a stressful situation, has a tantrum and the parent gives in to him, that’s as far as he needs to go. He won’t have to learn how to be patient, manage his anxiety and deal with stress. He just has to act out so that his parent takes care of all that. This is a skill that children learn. It’s not because they’re bad kids or good kids. It’s simply what works for them. They learn a problem-solving skill that says “If I’m disruptive to other people, then it solves my problem.” The child doesn’t have to deal with the stress because everyone else is busy running around trying to calm him down and they eventually give in to him…”

Tantrums are to be expected, but they’re not to be rewarded.

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