They Spy, I Spy, You Spy, We Cry – Why?

Okay. All right. We get it. The USA spies on its own people. How novel! Why, I never, never thought such a breach of privacy would occur in The Land Of The Free! Nope. Never, ever. We only used Wiretaps for ages to catch criminals. Physical surveillance only happened in TV shows and films, not in real life (such as outside my home when incorrect rumours were running amok that I was a drug dealer because I gave an aspirin to a classmate who had a headache), and no way did strangers ever read our mail or check our credit or anything invasive at all!

This shocking, I tell you, shocking scandal du jour, has an entire country reeling! Now we must be extremely careful when sending emails, posting pix to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. My friends will have to cease posting their food pictures and everything! And I will have to do my subversive FB Sharing's of spiritual guidance, animals and fashion looking over my shoulder for Biggy Brother's Biggest Brother, rather than a nosy friend. My life is ruined!

How could I possibly "make light" of the recent developments concerning the NSA, you might ask. Quite easily, in fact. I'm simply not surprised at all, despite a few of the grey areas within the "boundaries" of what is deemed True Invasion Of Privacy and a General Collecting of data for Homeland Security purposes. Yes, it does trouble me that Social Media Outlets are could be providing what was once thought to be "private" information stored within a particular company's database, which, of course, could never, ever be hacked into (although many of my FB friends, including myself) have, at one time or another, been "hacked" over there. Wow! A Security Breach Online! What a concept!

Face it, people! With the Internet, spying gathering information comes with "the territory." If you were an Agent Of Spying, wouldn't you utilize every available outlet to locate Evil Doers? But, of course you would. And, as it's always been and will always be no matter how loud anyone shouts, privacy in the U.S. has not been as "private" as many who preferred to live in a charming bubble of ignorant bliss has believed for at least 70-80 years.

The Ways & Means of covert activity within our borders has simply become far more sophisticated now that the power of communication technology has reached the masses. Now we too can send sensitive information via Cyberspace to others (which is completely available to anyone with excellent computer skills). I'm more concerned about some crazy person in any country hacking into my blog and other online places I visit just because they want to wreak havoc for the sick pleasure of it than my gov't attempting to determine if I'm prepping for another 9/11 attack.

To those who are exploding over the discovery of what has been going on with Our Freedoms, may I kindly remind you that our country uses cameras to patrol intersections? Our business's use Security Camera's. The ATM's have camera's. So do a few homes. New parents place Nanny-Cams in their homes, or can set their computers up to monitor what goes on in the house while they sit at their office desks miles away? Baby Monitors rest quietly beside the crib of The Little Ones so that Mommy and Daddy can hear every burp, chirp and blurt without leaving their bed or wherever they may be while their baby sleeps elsewhere in the house?

Therefore, if a supposed "regular person" is monitoring something they hold dear, then why wouldn't a government do the same to protect a country they "hold dear" – albeit in a different way. How many of you assumed/knew/supported the USA's Intelligence Gathering Techniques against Other Countries so that The Powers That Be would be forewarned if something nasty was afoot? And who, may I ask, can be so naïve to think that a country as large as the United States with seemingly arbitrary Visa rules would not have "enemies" aboard from both HERE and THERE plotting-away?

For now, at least, I rest my case on the furor over the NSA "leaks." My outrage is directed elsewhere, and I wish others were just as appalled at THIS as they are at THAT.

Otherwise, have a great day/afternoon/evening/dawn!

Image via: http://seanlinnane.blogspot.com