On the Morality of the Government and their Programs

Inspired by the recent NSA program revelations, I have decide to address not the scandal itself, but the overall question of morality. Morality is, of course, different from legality. A lie, in itself, can be considered immoral, but become illegal if that lie turns into, for example, fraud.

As far as I am concerned, the NSA program is legal. It was provided for in the Patriot Act. Further, the Supreme Court has ruled that, when there is a "clear and present danger," (the patterns the NSA's "box" picks up in regards to who calls whom would reflect this) such programs would, I believe, fall into this category.

But the issue, to me, is not legality. The issue is morality. When governments, any government, any democracy, any dictatorship, etc. impinge legally or illegally on their citizens' rights, they have a moral obligation to reveal that impinging of rights to the public.

As far as what is to be revealed, a simple "hey, we are tracking what you do/say/worship" or any other right that is being impinged upon would be sufficient. This enables the country's citizens to know that they might have to be a little bit more careful, and there is not enough revealed about the program so as to expose it to loopholes and exceptions that criminals might otherwise exploit.

Thus, we, the citizens are better informed and there is a bit of transparency, but not so much so that criminals can exploited.

My thoughts on Syria

First of all, I apologize for lateness in entry. Let's restart!


Three crucial questions must be answered as we offer more aid to the Syrian rebels:

1) Who are the rebels? Are they Al Qaeda? Are they friendly to the US? Will they be like the Taliban and use the weapons we give them against us? The answer to this question must be, regardless, to put the US and its allies in a situation to limit the blowback that will eventually come to us in some form or another. Additionally, we must not allow the chemical weapons stockpile to get into the rebel's hands if we cannot trust them.

2) Will Bashar Assad leave? If Assad does not wish to leave, it could mean that we are dedicating ourselves to a potentially never-ending conflict unless we put boots on the ground.

3) Finally, what will be our ultimate level of involvement? Will we have boots on the ground? A no-fly zone? Will we send in a drone to kill Assad? Will we in/directly confront Russia and Iran? What is the end game. The list of questions related in this category goeso n and on.

One thing is for certain, Syria could be a deadly guessing game. One wrong move and you can pay forever.