Tongue in Cheek Letter to the editor about the NSA and
Privacy
October 26, 2013
This letter to the editor of the Pueblo Chieftain Newspaper
was published a few days after it was transmitted.
Just a few days ago I thought Steppenwolf was a really cool
band headed by John Kay in the late 1960s.
Today I picked up an old tattered book from the Pueblo Library titled
Steppenwolf. The book was first
published in 1927 by its German-Swiss author, Hermann Hesse. Mr. Hesse won the Nobel Prize in Literature
at some point in his long career. I
figured how could I go wrong with such a distinguished author?
I was stopped cold on the fourth page. A chill ran down my
spine. The protagonist, I assume Steppenwolf,
had just made a deal with his kindly new landlady. She agreed not to make the obligatory report
to the local police that he had just moved into her house as a new tenant. Her
nephew was upset with this deal. The Nazi Party was destined to take over in
just a few short years, so I should not have been surprised. After all,
shouldn’t any government or the police know of the whereabouts of all citizens?
The chill ran down my spine once again as I read the trusty Pueblo
Chieftain. There was more talk of our
government spying on our own citizens, and of course, spying on other
governments that are our allies. You’ve
heard the news for several months. I don’t have to elaborate. In sixties hippy
speak, the news really creped me out.
I told myself to cheer up!
Americans won’t have to report to the police when we make changes in our
living accommodations. This
inconvenience and the inevitable embarrassment of kowtowing to the authorities
will be avoided for the foreseeable future.
After all, our images are captured everywhere we go and everywhere we do
business. Kids out of high school with
contractor generated secret security clearances can read our emails and listen
to our phone calls any time an invisible judge says it’s okay. We can always be quickly found with the aid
of our cell phones or a pilotless drone. As an added bonus, when the government shuts
down now and then, these services are not likely to be interrupted. The police
or our massive centralized government can find us when they need us.
Angela Merkel, please, don’t sweat the small stuff. Believe me when I tell you we are all safer.
