Freedom and security

This Is getting pretty ridiculous. There’s something sort of odd how we’ve welcomed more and more police surveillance into our lives. We’ve already allowed CCTV cameras, drunk driving checkpoints, and random security screenings at airports, so I guess something like this isn’t too surprising.

I can’t really blame the police for this. Their job, after all, is ostensibly to uphold the law and through upholding the law to keep us safe. It is only natural that they see anything that makes their job easier as a good thing. If you are a police officer things like Real ID and video surveillance make catching those who commit crimes easier. Handgun bans look like they could save your life. No-knock warrants make it difficult for someone to dispose of evidence or prepare a physical defense against you.

I am not a police officer. I don’t really bear any ill will against them. That does not mean that I trust them. I have more reason to trust them than most, since I am white, middle class, and keep a fairly low profile. They have helped me in the past, and for that I am grateful. In the event I require their services in the future I want them to be able to do their jobs.

I don’t trust them because in my opinion we’ve reached a point of excess when it comes to safety. I won’t delve into hyperbole by claiming that we’re descending in to the same territory as the cold-war KGB or Stasi, but we are reaching the point where law enforcement is bumping up against our rights on a daily basis.

I believe that the 2nd Amendment was intended to guarantee the individuals right to defend himself. I believe that the right to privacy is being infringed upon by Real ID requirements. I believe that police should require probable cause to stop someone on the road, and that that probably cause has to have a more stringent requirement than “he was driving on the road”. I believe that sealing off whole neighborhoods in the name of “safety” is likely to cause irreparable damage to those neighborhoods.

Government has one main responsibility: Its primary purpose is to defend the people. It is only natural that it would want to be zealous about this duty. Most of these measures I object to were born not of some cynical grab for power, but out of a sincere desire to promote safety. What I would really like to see is a national dialogue on how much safety is too much.