Rights vs. Fear

I think I am going to start stocking up on rotten tomatoes to use on the next person who uses the word "terrorism" as an excuse to attack basic freedoms.

I have known one person in my life who was killed in a terrorist attack. That was a horrible situation, and one that I would prefer never happen again.

However, everyone I know has been affected by the attack on their rights and freedoms by their own governments under the excuse - and that is all it is - of preventing terrorism.

Everything from disallowing a tube of toothpaste in a carry-on bag on a plane, to intercepting telephone calls without a warrant is done under the claim that it will stop terrorists. It won't. What it will do is complicate the lives and remove the freedoms of innocent people. The terrorists, if they are out there, will find a way.

Why am I talking about this now, when it is essentially old news? Because I had been hopeful that things would start to improve when the paranoid Bush regime was gone from power. Yet I found two new "anti-terrorist" activities in the news just today.

The Americans are launching unmanned (and, for the moment, at least) unarmed drones to fly along the Manitoba border. There goes that whole concept of "the world's longest undefended border" that we were taught about in school.

And in England, the powers that be have decided that people should no longer be allowed to photograph police officers, because the photographers might be terrorist groups taking reconnaissance shots. Not only will there be a lot of disappointed tourists, but this would also mean that bad cops could assault people without the risk of exposure.

When does this stupidity stop? When are people going to stand up and say "my rights are more important than my fear"? Because until we do, the governments are going to use this excuse to do all of the things they always wanted, but were never allowed.

We have more to fear from our own governments than from some threat from the middle east.