"To assure our country's freedom, the government should be able to spy on it's citizens."
This statement is not true. In fact, this statement defines the complete opposite of freedom. Freedom is having the ability to do what you wish without others judging you for it. Freedom is the right to privacy, and spying on citizens violates one's privacy. Freedom is not defined by our government knowing what we do in private, whether it be sculpting clay figurines or sheep herding. Instead, our freedom is secured by citizens knowing what our government does and having the right to vote on it. If we don't know what the government is doing and we can't influence it based on what we, as people want, then the government can take away our freedom in any way possible, including spying on us.
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6 comments:
Mr. Dog-Tizzle, I personal agree with everything you're saying. But you talk mainly about an individual's freedom, not the freedom of the country. If a government cannot monitor the activities of individuals, don't we leave ourselves wide open for an attack from within? We are not a hard country to get into, and so how would we stop someone from coordinating a second 9/11 without monitoring their communications?
The comment published at 2:07 on february 2008 was by sam
dunnington
I agree Dogzilla, yet your argument is a tad flawed. Political freedom means that the government will not force an individual to do anything against their will by using aggression and/or intimidation. If the government were "spying", then the citizens wouldn't be aware that they were being watched, meaning they would not be pressured to do anything. I agree it would indeed suck if we were being watched, but if we were being spied on, we wouldn't know it.
-Max David
Nick?
Dearest N-Dog Tizzle,
After reading 1984 I would say that I agree with what you are saying, especially that freedom is the right to do what you with without being judged for it, and if the government spies on you, then you are no longer free. In 1984, the government is able to spy on the citizens whenever and almost wherever they want to, and based on Winston’s feelings about it; they are not free at all. Winston feels that he always has to watch what he does and what he says in fear that the government will hear him and think he is conspiring against the Party. If someone has to constantly be thinking about the effects of their actions before they act, then they are not truly free.
Michael Haruta
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