I have come to the conclusion that trying to understand the way that the citizenry of the US is being watched from a one topic at a time linear sort of manner is the exact wrong way to go.
There is such a huge amount of historical data as well as congressional and legal information to process, that I am a little put off with how to proceed. The volume of information is compounded by the fact that my understanding of exactly how the government works is a little anemic. What I learned from high school as well as School House Rock seems to ill prepare me for reading through Cabinent/Department (DOD/DOE/DOJ/Homeland Security) vs. Federal Agencies and Commissions (such as the NSA).
So I am learning ...
I have re-read several books and dozens of web sites, and have learned a great deal of 'stuff'. I have learned that we have been down this path at least one time before, that more people are interested in monitoring than even I had cynically assumed, and that once the tools for monitoring citizenry are put in place that there are those who will always abuse them. Those of you who know me will laugh at my false naivety (spelling?), but really this is something of a problem.
The systems that are now being put into place are significantly different than those of previous generations in ways that significantly impact any notion of privacy that you might have accidentally managed to acquire over the years. This is in terms of pervasiveness, thoroughness and the ability of different systems to share information. In addition, there are non-governmental organizations that provide contracted services to those agencies that find their hands tied by legal or constitutional bounds.
I will continue looking at this and try to figure out how best to convey this information. There are many web sites that have set out to document what is being done in a clear headed and systematic manner. Not many try to put it all together in a useful way.
Perhaps I will write that book after all ...
4 comments:
Naivete.
Many thanks. Hope to see you soon!
Did you ever read Nick Tosches' book, King of the Jews? In it, he (attempts) to give an overview of Western Civilization in a biography of Arnold Rothstein; an elliptical approach, to be sure, but highly entertaining. Of course, I get the impression that he started out writing the biography, got bored, and let it go from there, so that is not a particularly helpful paradigm in trying to tackle a broad and amorphous subject. Still, as I say, it is a fun read.
Good for people to know.
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