Monday, June 11, 2012

Drones-- The Oppression of America


 Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Soon the eyes of the government will be every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The Declaration of Independence declares the principle that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.  I have not given my consent for the government to fly spy drones over my house, my town or my state.  I don’t know of anyone in our small town that would give their consent to be spied upon by our government.  

The Constitution does not authorize the government to spy upon We the People. A government that spies upon its people breaks faith with the people violates the contract between the government and the people under which the people consent to be governed. A government that spies upon its people produces a nation of people who will mistrust its leaders. A government that spies upon its people ceases to honor the privacy of its people.  If our government has the power to invade the privacy of its people it is no longer a government deriving its power from the people.  America is quickly becoming a nation that is occupied by a government that no longer speaks for the American people. 

Americans have prided themselves on our Constitution that protects our freedoms.  The law on surveillance begins with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which states clearly that Americans' privacy may not be invaded without a warrant based on probable cause.  That was before it became accepted by the past two admirations to spy on Americans in violation of our Constitution.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  This is what we used to have as a protection of our privacy.  With the technology of today drones can now provide our government with surveillance that has the ability to spy on the American people from a distance or within feet of our homes.  Again, this is a violation of our freedom. 

 The US Supreme Court (US v. Katz 389 US 347) has made it clear that this core privacy protection does cover government eavesdropping. As a result, all electronic surveillance by the government in the United States is illegal, unless it falls under one of a small number of precise exceptions specifically carved out in the law.  This would include drones.

Our government leaders have used the fear and threat of “terrorist” to the point that everything has become lumped into “terrorist activities” and “We the People” need protection.  However, our government has far exceeded its authority in the area of national security.  The National Security Administration (NSA) can only spy where it is explicitly granted permission to do so by statute. Citizens concerned about surveillance do not have to answer the question, "what law restricts the NSA's spying?" Rather, the government is required to supply an answer to the question "what law permits the NSA to spy?"  That was before our present president and congress changed the law.

But can we blame the government for all this need for security?  No, I think not.  As Americans we have lost the respect for each others property rights.  Maybe, this is because we no longer feel it is important to keep the commandment “Thou shall not steal”.  If as a people we can disregard the laws of God what chance is there that we will keep man’s law?

The big theft today is stealing someone’s identity.  Anytime we make a transaction we are asked for personal information, and we are given the assurance that it will not be used for any other purpose.  Then we hear on the news the number of companies hacked and information sold to individuals who use it to rob us.  We could blame it on the terrorist since companies are required to collect information due to “Know Your Customer Laws”, to prevent international terrorists from moving money or purchasing items that may be used to manufacture items to be used against us.  In fact, Homeland Security has its own you’re your customer program and it is Homeland Security just recruited Wal-Mart as a spying partner.

We have arrived at a unique moment in the history of surveillance, in a poll conducted by the Washington Post 71% of the American’s approve of surveillance.  Every day we are photographed and videotaped on the highway, at the store, the bank, the local park, every government building, schools and even in passing our neighbor’s home that have video surveillance.  What these people fail to realize is that are an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras now deployed in the United States shooting 4 billion hours of footage a week. Americans are being watched, all of us, almost everywhere.  Soon we will be watched from the sky by government controlled drones.  When will America wake up and say enough is enough?  I for one, have come to the conclusion that I would rather place my trust in the protection of the LORD rather than this present government. As the Psalmist tells us that we should  ". . .not put your trust in princes, no in a son of man, in whom there is no help.  His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.  Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God." Ps. 146

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