The emergence of the NSA as America's secret police did not happen as an aberration but within the phenomenon of shrinking rights that I've noticed since my political awareness began in 1980 or so.
Since then, I have not seen any expansion of rights for anyone, except maybe for those living in the former Warsaw Pact and non-humans (e.g. pets) in the US.
I have however seen a relaxation of controls for groups such as law enforcement.
It may have started with the belief that "criminals have more rights than victims" that found expression in movies such as Sudden Impact. Such sympathetic arguments missed the point that the power of the state doesn't target victims.
Regardless of origin, law enforcement lobbied for - and usually got - exception after exception to the bill of rights until we reached the point where an actual trial hardly matters.
While the rights of suspects and law-abiding people shrank, the scope of the term "national security" grew, fueled by another belief - that the survival of the state mattered more than its' intended purpose - the protection of the lives and liberties of its' inhabitants.
The emergence of the NSA as America's secret police did not happen as an aberration but within the phenomenon of shrinking rights that I've noticed since my political awareness began in 1980 or so.
Since then, I have not seen any expansion of rights for anyone, except maybe for those living in the former Warsaw Pact and non-humans (e.g. pets) in the US.
I have however seen a relaxation of controls for groups such as law enforcement.
It may have started with the belief that "criminals have more rights than victims" that found expression in movies such as Sudden Impact. Such sympathetic arguments missed the point that the power of the state doesn't target victims.
Regardless of origin, law enforcement lobbied for - and usually got - exception after exception to the bill of rights until we reached the point where an actual trial hardly matters.
While the rights of suspects and law-abiding people shrank, the scope of the term "national security" grew, fueled by another belief - that the survival of the state mattered more than its' intended purpose - the protection of the lives and liberties of its' inhabitants.