Yeah, that is a rather big issue. I don't quite like where we're headed as a society. Or rather, where most first-world societies are heading, at least as far as privacy is going. My attitude towards those issues isn't helping either, I know that much. Our politicians got large chunks of the German population to agree with their actions, though. Was easy enough; they just had to make people believe that it's all about stopping child pornography and voilà.
And here it is terrorism. Governments create a boogeyman and convince you they are stopping it. But are they? You don't know. There is not public oversight, no transparency. In the end the level of abuse that they can dole out is beyond your control the moment they get their foot in the door.
A quote I often like to refer to:
How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well, certainly, there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
I don't know what it is like in Germany, but here the people who blow whistles, ask questions, fight for their rights, and refuse to remain silent are tossed in solitary confinement for years with no charges filed, forced to flee the country, or have their entire professional and personal lives destroyed by criminal and tax investigations. You can't gain access to find out if you are being unjustly targeted because they use the same systems that you protest. Even under court order they refuse to turn over any records because it would violate security.
You can't bring the abuses to light because the abuses are being hidden by more abuse of the system.
I don't know, might be a defeatist attitude to just accept stuff because the majority of ones' society has been lured into supporting it, but I don't feel like those of us who doe oppose are in a position do anything about it...
Don't accept it. Refuse to be silent. I live in a country that exists purely because people refused to be silenced and even faced criminal prosecution to be heard. Eventually, someone listens and they start talking.
There is always one thing to remember when facing the government and their power.
We the people outnumber them. Governments should fear the people, not the other way around.
Isn't this against the 4th amendment in the United States :\?
He's referring to Social Security. It started out as a way to help those in the Great Depression who lost everything. Then it grew into a government funded retirement account. Now it is used to track your entire financial life. Anyone with access to social security records could most likely look up every expenditure you ever made that didn't use straight cash.
EDIT: I should add that it wasn't government that made it key to your entire financial life. At least not directly. The credit institutions and banks began using it as an identifier when you applied for an account or loan. As we grew into a society that relies on credit (the spending of non-existent money that represents an unbacked form of currency that you don't actually have to have to your name) your entire life became tied to your social security number.
There is a reason why I only have one form of debt and am becoming more and more likely to use cash.
But all seriousness aside... I'd rather ignore all the worries in life, instead of hibernating at home away from the dangers of reality until I turn 100. But now, if someone's spying on me through the window, that's a different pedophilia ball park.
