Take government spying seriously

When I drive down a Maryland road where there is construction, I get angry. They have on both sides of the road SUVs bought at taxpayer expense equipped with radar and cameras. If you are going over the speed limit, they take a picture of your license plate and send you a bill in the mail. They have the same things for red lights, school zones (even when there is no school), and general traffic on high traveled roads. The city brags about how much money it has brought in since installing these cameras on public highways. I get angry because I believe it is an invasion of my privacy. Public roads are owned by the public, not the government. But the government has assumed that stewardship is ownership.

Part of where we went wrong in this country is by allowing the government to assume that it owns things. The government in of itself would not be able to have anything if not for the people it taxes. We the people pay taxes to the government and it buys stuff with those taxes, but it is a steward--not an owner--of the public trust. Notwithstanding, the trend in government is that it is the owner, provider, inspector, investigator, and arbitrator of all things. This is very dangerous because the basis of a free society rests on government being subservient to the people it governs, governing by the consent of the people. The more government is allowed to grow, the more power it assumes, the more personal it gets.

The Chicago Tribune reported a woman was cited by the Forest Preserve District for not buying a permit for a dog park because of remarks she made on Facebook. According to the story, "The citation arrived at her Bolingbrook home with a letter explaining the ticket, an application for a dog park permit as well as a copy of her social media post "admitting her guilt."" The victim of government spying had made a comment on the Whalon Park Dog Park's group page that she was glad she had not bought a pass and had not taken her dog there because of a kennel cough that had been going around among dogs frequenting that park. Eventually, the citation was withdrawn. But think of the resources spent.

If a government is so large that it is able to employ human and capital resources to the extent of assuming a citizen's guilt, locating them, and fining them without due process, that government is too big, too intrusive, and overtly tyrannical. There is no probable cause, but rather an assumption of guilt. There is no due process because the citizen is not given the opportunity to face his accuser. There is an invasion of privacy because your personal effects are being violated without warrant. It is good policy to obey the law, and to watch what you post in public forums and social media. But don't buy the lie that the government owns the public. When you do, you give up your Constitutional rights. As Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you." Don't be deceived into thinking that you are guilty until proven innocent.