President Bush has shown disrespect for the limits of his power and the privacy of American citizens by bypassing the courts to authorize spy operations on Americans. The White House has tried to defend itself by claiming that the spying is authorized under the “use of force” power granted by Congress, but invading privacy is not use of force. It is illegal spying on people who have not been charged with crimes or been placed under court-approved investigation.
The Presidential powers are limited for a reason. History has shown us that one man with too much power can be incredibly dangerous. The power of the Executive branch needs to be checked by the Judicial and Legislative branches to keep the President from growing too powerful. When Bush bypassed the courts to spy on Americans, he gave himself powers he was never supposed to have.
The White House claims that the authorization of domestic spying is within the President’s power, but that argument does not make sense. If it is within the President’s power to authorize spying on American citizens without court approval, why did President Bush get court approval for some of the domestic spying projects, while conducting other spying operations in secret? If the President does not need court approval to spy on Americans, he should have just bypassed the courts all together. That certainly would have made things faster and easier for the White House.
Naïve citizens think the secret spying is not a big problem. Most people think that the Federal government is spying only on Al Qaeda associates, but it would be very easy for completely innocent people to get caught in this secret web.
For example, let’s say you sold your computer, and the buyer happened to be remotely connected to a terrorist group. A sweep of your old computer’s hard drive might reveal the names and addresses of you, your friends, and your family. Suddenly, because the wrong person bought your old computer, you and the people you know might be considered legitimate terror suspects and therefor be subjected to domestic spying.
This is just one example. There are many other circumstances that could place you under suspicion. What if your child has a college roommate related to a questionable organization? What if a terrorist hacks your computer or steals your cell phone? What if a suspected person works with you or rents from you? The scenarios go on and on. You may currently be associated with a terrorist suspect and you don’t even know it; however, thanks to illegal spying, the White House probably does.
We are losing freedoms rapidly in this country, and a lot of these freedoms are being sacrificed for the promise of security. It is time to start asking ourselves just what we are trying to protect. Is a little extra defense against terrorists really worth giving up the beautiful and glorious freedoms on which this country was founded?
