The Price of Freedom
I just finished watching an old episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (no, don't stop reading yet!) called "The Drumhead" that hit frighteningly close to home. You can read a quick summary of the episode here if you haven't seen it before.
As I was watching the episode, the steps that Admiral Satie takes in trying to uncover a "conspiracy" are disturbingly close to what Canada, Britain, and the United States are doing in the name of security. People are having their privacy compromised via electronic or physical surveillance simply because they are seen talking briefly to a suspected "dangerous" person, or are arrested on suspicions and hearsay that would never be considered substantial enough to get a proper warrant. Our freedom to travel is curtailed in the name of "security," and keeps us in a constant state of paranoia that helps blind us to the fact that the very principles that our society was founded on are being violated in the name of protecting it.
The only reason why this is allowed to continue is that we (and I am including myself here as "we") are too complacent to take a stand against it. We spend all day working to support ourselves, and what little spare time we do have is filled with so many distractions that we think we "just don't have the time" to stand up and let those in power know that we are tired of being governed from the top down. The next time you're starting to get bored with checking Facebook for the 14th time in the past 2 hours to see what your friends are up to, or are going to sit there watching the same movie on DVD that you've seen 5 times already, get up and do something to make a difference.
Write a physical letter to your Member of Parliament/Congressperson saying exactly how you feel about the current state of the country and the world. It's free, and a pile of physical letters sitting on a desk makes a bigger impression than a bunch of digital documents. If they don't respond to you, write another letter until it becomes a big enough concern for them take notice. During the next election, if you don't know who to vote for, call up the campaign offices the candidates and ask them where they stand on the issues. Call multiple times if you have to, don't give up. It's time that the majority of people spoke up and let themselves be heard, rather than the vocal (and often irrational and extreme) minority.
I'm personally going to tell them that I feel it's the greatest insult to our country and all that it stands for if we abandon the rule of law. Don't think that this isn't happening in Canada; it is, it's just that the Canadian government seems to do a better job of sweeping it under the carpet. I, for one, am tired of sitting around saying "I'm going to do something... eventually," and am going to take action. I implore you to do so too, and make your voice heard.
You can find contact info for your local Member of Parliament by looking here. If you want to mail something to Prime Minister Harper, you can reach him at:
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
As I was watching the episode, the steps that Admiral Satie takes in trying to uncover a "conspiracy" are disturbingly close to what Canada, Britain, and the United States are doing in the name of security. People are having their privacy compromised via electronic or physical surveillance simply because they are seen talking briefly to a suspected "dangerous" person, or are arrested on suspicions and hearsay that would never be considered substantial enough to get a proper warrant. Our freedom to travel is curtailed in the name of "security," and keeps us in a constant state of paranoia that helps blind us to the fact that the very principles that our society was founded on are being violated in the name of protecting it.
The only reason why this is allowed to continue is that we (and I am including myself here as "we") are too complacent to take a stand against it. We spend all day working to support ourselves, and what little spare time we do have is filled with so many distractions that we think we "just don't have the time" to stand up and let those in power know that we are tired of being governed from the top down. The next time you're starting to get bored with checking Facebook for the 14th time in the past 2 hours to see what your friends are up to, or are going to sit there watching the same movie on DVD that you've seen 5 times already, get up and do something to make a difference.
Write a physical letter to your Member of Parliament/Congressperson saying exactly how you feel about the current state of the country and the world. It's free, and a pile of physical letters sitting on a desk makes a bigger impression than a bunch of digital documents. If they don't respond to you, write another letter until it becomes a big enough concern for them take notice. During the next election, if you don't know who to vote for, call up the campaign offices the candidates and ask them where they stand on the issues. Call multiple times if you have to, don't give up. It's time that the majority of people spoke up and let themselves be heard, rather than the vocal (and often irrational and extreme) minority.
I'm personally going to tell them that I feel it's the greatest insult to our country and all that it stands for if we abandon the rule of law. Don't think that this isn't happening in Canada; it is, it's just that the Canadian government seems to do a better job of sweeping it under the carpet. I, for one, am tired of sitting around saying "I'm going to do something... eventually," and am going to take action. I implore you to do so too, and make your voice heard.
You can find contact info for your local Member of Parliament by looking here. If you want to mail something to Prime Minister Harper, you can reach him at:
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2