A nice editorial from the LA Times today explains a little recent history to shed light on why we care about the wiretapping powers of our government.
It's tempting to say, "I'm not a terrorist, so the government should be given whatever powers it needs." (Well, it's tempting for those of you less curmudgeonly than me, I suppose.) But in actual point of fact, when the government is allowed to spy on people without oversight, history shows us that it always uses these tools to suppress dissent.
Governments aren't inherently evil, and on the record, I don't even think the present Administration is evil. But government is made of fallible human beings, and it's all too easy for human beings to see themselves as necessary for the good of the nation, and to see all their enemies as a threat to the nation. But when their "enemies" include their political foes, it gets tough to draw that line -- and the result is fiascoes like Watergate and, now, probably, the Bush Administration's adventures in crime even before 9/11.
Moral of the story: you have to watch the watchers, and nobody should be above the law. Otherwise, why have a law? Just declare a dictatorship -- it would be easier, after all.
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