I wrote the below column last week for the Georgetown Advocate, Hill Country News, and Jarrell Star Ledger, but this story just keeps growing, and none of the news is encouraging.
Original Column:
“They'll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the
corner. You should reject these voices.”
-Barack Obama, May 5, 2013
-Barack Obama, May 5, 2013
There is no shortage of news stories on government overreach
these days. Allegedly the IRS has
harassed conservative applicants for tax exempt status and targeted a
significant number of Republican donors for audits. Attorney General Eric Holder is facing
questions about secret warrants targeting Fox News reporters and possible
perjury in Congressional testimony. The
EPA is under fire for giving preferential treatment to liberal groups while
hampering conservatives seeking open records.
Even the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has harassed and intimidated
Republican-owned Gibson Guitars.
One of the most disturbing stories to date takes place right
here in the Texas, where multiple government entities have harassed True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht. Not only did the IRS demand excessive and
unreasonable information for Englebrecht’s organization, but her business was
audited, and both she and her husband faced personal IRS audits. Furthermore, the Engelbrecht’s were subject
to repeated investigations by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol and Firearms,
OSHA, and the EPA. It is hard to believe
any of this is a coincidence.
Clearly the administration has many tools at its disposal
for the harassment and intimidation of political enemies. Now, however, technological advances are
enabling our government to collect unprecedented amounts of personal data, a
factor that will vastly increase federal power.
For example, in the name of ‘free health care,” bureaucrats
will soon have access to our medical records, and it seems that those medical
records will include more detailed information than ever before. Some health questionnaires now ask about gun
ownership and other personal habits, and there is really no limit to what
information could be included in the national Electronic Medical Record database
mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Such
information will be in the hands of…IRS agents.
Public Schools are also collecting extensive data on our
children. President Obama’s Common Core
initiative not only imposes questionable curriculum standards, but implements a
national electronic database of students.
While Texas has at least nominally rejected Common Core, the state is in
the process of creating its own Texas Student Data System (TSDS). Under this system, every student at a Texas
public or charter school will have a “Unique ID.” Although the systems are purportedly to track
academic progress, it isn’t a stretch to see that much more information can be
included in these student databases. Schools
often offer health screenings, and some academic ‘assessment tools’ involve
asking students to write very personal essays about family life and
experiences. Will those details be added
to these electronic records? Who will
have access and what will be done with the collected data 10, 20, or 30 years
later?
Now also the Supreme Court has approved the taking of DNA
without a warrant. Unlike fingerprints,
DNA samples contain the entire blueprint for individual human beings. Since some scientists believe they can
predict behavior and outcomes based on DNA analysis, how might such information
be used in the future?
While the naïve will dismiss such concerns as so much
paranoia, a review of last week’s top news stories shows that abuse of
government power is happening right now and we are often unaware. Government entities are not only monitoring
our phone activity, but every move we make on the Internet. Obviously there are more than a few
individuals in government who are willing to abuse this power. I fear that in the quest to create a utopia,
we have delivered ourselves into the hands of a very powerful bully.
Our founding fathers sought to craft a government that could
never tyrannize the people. If we are to
stop these government abuses, we must first enforce constitutional protections,
and bureaucrats who abuse power should be punished within the full extent of
the law. Secondly, we must find ways to
check government power in the electronic age.
Without new protections for privacy and liberty, any government, current
or future, could easily impose tyranny.
And contrary to the President’s assurances, the threat of tyranny is a
clear and present danger.
1 comment:
I fear it will be much too late before enough of the American people wake up and analyze what has been going on
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