[Rant] Re: One of the biggest problems with freedom

[Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>]

At 08:23 AM 7/25/96 -0700, anonymous-remailer@shell.portal.com wrote:

>Example:  "I don't care if the government has my keys
>for encryption.  I don't do anything wrong, and if it
>helps FBI enforce our just laws, I am all for it.  Since
>anyone who tries to get keys without legal means will end
>up in Leavenworth for the rest of their life, there is
>no problems with people getting access to those things."

<rant>
I usually ask people like this why they would wind up in Levenworth for the
rest of their life?  Or spend any time in jail at all?  Government agents
are frequently found going through the records of friends and enemies.
haven ANY of them gone to jail?  Sometimes one or two will get a repremand
of caught doing something real dirty.  There seem to be few, if any,
penalties for Government Agents caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
(Unless it involves cash.)

Like the police, Government officials tend to protect their own.  If they
start to open your encrypted mail, how do you know?  It is not like the
postal service doing it where you can see the ripped up envolopes.

Ask them if they would mind postal inspectors going through all of their
private letters and postal mail.  (Just to make sure you are not talking
about anything you shouldn't...)  Or maybe watching you when you shower to
make sure that you do not have any underage children in their with you.
There are lots of excuses to be made for intruding into people's lives.
Does not mean it is right.

suggestion for the truely insane/bored: If you really want to start driving
the point home, start intercepting their mail.  Steam the envalopes open,
read it, seal it back up and put in back.  Mention small details of their
private correspondence in passing. Mention that they have still not paid
that bill for Soap Opera Digest. Talk about all the money they own Uncle
Bob.  They will soon get the point.  <<DISCLAIMER: Do not try this at home!
Private citizens cannot get away with this, only "Governments".>>

People do not seem to think about these restrictions until they REALLY start
to affect them.  By then it is too late.  It will "never happen to them"!
(You also might want to point out that not all people accused are actually
guilty.  Some of the worst cases are shown to be fedrales operating off of
old or bad data.  The innocent citizen just happens to get caught in the
path of the Fedreral Juggernaught.

Most of the "average citizens" who I have met who are willing to give up
their freedom are far too clueless and trusting to get the point.  The
Government is there to help them.  (Help themselves to their money, their
property, their personal information, their piece of mind, etc. etc. etc.)
</rant>
---
Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
  "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
                "Microsoft -- Nothing but NT promises."