Privacy and the Government

Peggy Noonan has written an excellent article on Privacy and the Government. The article, "What We Lose if We Give Up Privacy: A Civil libertarian reflects on the dangers of the surveillance state." It was in the Wall Street Journal August 15, 2013 edition. I enjoy reading Noonan's articles. She is a good observer of current events. She is concerned about the the recent National Security Revelations. She notes, "They log your calls here, they can listen and read your emails. They keep the data in mammoth machines that contain a huge collection of information about you and yours." Of course, this is being done because of the threat of terrorism. Should privacy be sacrificed because of the threat of terrorism?

Noonan is not the only person concerned about the intrusiveness of government. Noonan writes: "A loss of the expectation of privacy in communications is a loss of something personal and intimate, and it will have broader implications. This is the view of Nat Hentoff, the great journalist and civil libertarian." Hentoff thinks the excessive government surveillance is against the Fourth Amendment. This amendment protects "the right of people to be secure in their own persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

Mr. Hentoff "sees the surveillance state as a threat to free speech too."

Should we be concerned about the growth of government surveillance over its citizens? See the link below to access the article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323639704579015101857760922.html?mod=hp_opinion