History
Repeats 
As an effort “to temper public
concern” regarding the NSA overreach, our President established a five member
‘Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’.
They held their first meeting on June 21st behind closed
doors. The discussion centered on ways to enlighten the American people on the
need of our government to violate our privacy and civil liberties.
On
10/27/1775, King George had a similar meeting with his Parliament. He discussed the Colonists’ discontent and
how to quell what may be a rising rebellion. The American’s complaints
included: confiscation of private property, deprivation of a trial by jury,
judges dependent on the will of the King, the covert transporting of arms and
armies, jurisdiction of foreign laws on Americans, imposing taxes without the
peoples’ consent, mandatory quartering of troops to effect spying on the
residents in their own homes, enlarging an arbitrary government, the erection
of unelected offices and officers to harass the people, restrictions on trade
and business and the government’s silencing of dissent and assembly.
On
7/4/1776 a group of leaders: preachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants and
educators, declared independence from an overreaching government. They pledged their lives, reputations and
fortunes in exchange for freedom from a government that dictated their
lives. They did this for their children
and their children’s children. They determined that it was self-evident that
all men are created equal. They knew
that we are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights – Life, Liberty and
the Pursuit of Happiness. They envisioned a government “of the People, by the
People, and for the People”. Two hundred
and thirty seven years later – have we lost the vision?
