Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… AND privacy

"I would only point out that you really don't have any civil liberties if you're dead"
- Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), in the Chicago Tribune

Yesterday, John Negroponte, Porter Goss, and Robert Mueller all testified before the Senate Intelligence Committe about U.S. security and international threats. Unfortunately, the majority of the session was devoted to answering questions about the NSA program to monitor e-mail and phone traffic of suspected terrorists.

Since the NSA's domestic surveillance program was leaked to the NY Times in mid-December, Democrats and The Media have been falling over themselves trying to bring down the Bush administration with comparisons to the KGB and hyperbolic references to "Big Brother."

What I don't understand is why the left gets so bent out of shape over "privacy." Why should I be concerned that the government is monitoring communications in order to protect me from terrorists who would prefer for me to be dead because of my "infidel" status? The argument they make is that it is terrorists today, but who will it be tomorrow? What's to stop them from eavesdropping on Christians, or school teachers, or blondes? Maybe I'm not normal, but I'm not terribly concerned with my privacy, and unless a person has something to hide, I can't understand why anyone would be this upset about it.

If I found out that the FBI had listened to and taped every single cell phone conversation I've had in the last month, I wouldn't care even a little bit. Let them check my e-mail, there's nothing in there I don't want them to see. Let them read my blog, check the bottom of my sock drawer, and follow me around for a week. The point is, I've got nothing to hide! By the end of the month, all they would know is that I'm a Calvinists, a Republican, and a cigar smoker. There… my secret is out!

Maybe I'm not as suspicious or skeptical about the government as the Democrats are, but other than it being the shaky legal foundation for their Roe v. Wade position, I just can't understand why they are so concerned with privacy. I would prefer they worry about keeping Americans alive than protecting the privacy rights of suspected terrorists. Like Sen. Roberts said, I'd rather be alive with the government monitoring my phone calls then dead with all of my "civil liberties" intact.

But, I can't say I'm surprised at the Democrats' behavior. This is what they've become. Rather than presenting ideas and working toward progress, they've revved up the tar-n'-feathering machine, attempting to smear the president for doing his job protecting the security of this nation. My biggest problem is with the people that leaked this story, and the NY Times for printing it. The NSA has lost a valuable tool to protect us from terrorism, and I can't think of any word other than traitor to describe the people who made this classified program public.