Please, No Spying On Us!

There has been a lot of controversy about the wiretapping that President Bush has allowed. Perhaps if I were a lawyer with some idea of all the complex issues involved, I could make a more informed assessment. But I am not. So I write down my thoughts and feelings about the situation as I see it.

I very much oppose the use of such powers. It seems to me that it takes away valuable, basic freedoms of Americans, freedoms on which the very nature of the life we believe in is based. From a layman's perspective, it seems to me that the President is behaving almost as a king. If so, he believes himself to be a benevolent king, only doing these things for the protection of us, his vassals. There has been far too much secrecy associated with this administration, and this secrecy is inimical to the way of life and the way of government that have developed since this country began. One of the arguments used is that Congress, after 9/11, gave the President the power to conduct the war. Which war? We first went into Afghanistan, then, without justification, into Iraq. Now the continuing justification is that we are in a global "war on terrorism." There have been too many mistakes made, and no admittance of the mistakes. Somehow, we need to change course, to find better ways of relating to the rest of the world, ways that do not have to take away our basic freedoms. My hope is that somehow, the Presicent will realize and admit this and make an effort to change the direction we are going. In the meantime, I say "please, no spying on us!"