Government Trust: An Issue of Privacy, Property, and Freedoms
This piece was written by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute.
Thomas Jefferson once stated, “In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” This sentiment resonates today as public trust in the government to “do what is right” is at an all-time low. This is largely due to the government's tendency to sidestep the Constitution and undermine citizens' rights.
When one considers the numerous ways in which citizens are being oppressed, tracked, targeted, impoverished, and even killed by the government, it becomes clear that the government cannot be trusted with our privacy, property, life, or freedoms.
Government and Privacy
In the two decades since 9/11, the military-security industrial complex has created a digital prison that becomes more restrictive by the day. Surveillance is everywhere, monitored by AI software and connected to a growing network of fusion centers, making privacy and anonymity almost nonexistent. The Department of Homeland Security has collaborated with corporations to fuel a massive influx of money into surveillance and policing in our cities, all under the guise of emergency response and counterterrorism.
Government and Property
When government agents can invade your home, damage your belongings, and terrorize your family, your property is no longer private and secure—it belongs to the government. Hard-working Americans are having their bank accounts, homes, cars, electronics, and cash seized by police under the assumption that they have been associated with some criminal scheme.
Government and Finances
The U.S. government is spending money it doesn’t have on programs it can’t afford, and taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill for the government’s fiscal irresponsibility. The national debt is $35 trillion and growing, yet there seems to be no end in sight to the government’s fiscal insanity. According to Forbes, Congress has raised, extended, or revised the definition of the debt limit 78 times since 1960 to allow the government to fund its existence with a credit card.
Government and Health
Citizens have essentially become lab rats in the government’s secret experiments, which include MKULTRA and the U.S. military’s secret race-based testing of mustard gas on more than 60,000 enlisted men. The government has repeatedly conducted secret experiments on an unsuspecting populace, making healthy people sick by spraying them with chemicals, injecting them with infectious diseases, and exposing them to airborne toxins.
Government and Life
Growing numbers of unarmed people have been shot and killed for simply standing or moving in a way that police could misinterpret as threatening. Even the most benign encounters with police can have fatal consequences. The number of Americans killed by police continues to grow, with the majority of those killed as a result of police encounters having been suspected of a non-violent offense or no crime at all, or during a traffic violation.
Government and Freedoms
For years, the government has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the American people, allowing us just enough freedom to think we are free but not enough to actually live as free people. Freedom no longer means what it once did. This holds true whether you’re talking about the right to criticize the government, the right to be free from government surveillance, the right to not have your person or your property subjected to warrantless searches by government agents, the right to due process, the right to be safe from militarized police invading your home, the right to be innocent until proven guilty, and every other right that once reinforced the founders’ belief that this would be “a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Bottom Line
The U.S. government is not looking out for our best interests, nor is it a friend to freedom. Remember, the purpose of a good government is to protect the lives and liberties of its people. Unfortunately, we have been saddled with a government that, in almost every regard, is the exact opposite of an institution dedicated to protecting the lives and liberties of its people.
So, what’s the solution? For starters, get back to basics. Get to know your neighbors, your community, and your local officials. Understand your rights. Know how your local government is structured. Who serves on your city council and school boards? Who runs your local jail? What recourse does the community have to voice concerns about local problems or disagree with decisions by government officials?
Finally, don’t get so comfortable that you stop holding your government accountable. We’ve drifted a long way from the local government structures that provided the basis for freedom, but we are not so far gone that we can’t reclaim some of its vital components.
What are your thoughts on these issues? Do you feel the government can be trusted with your privacy, property, and freedoms? Share this article with your friends and discuss these important matters. Also, don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is every day at 6 pm.
