Thursday, June 27, 2013

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.

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