The Flip Flop

I realize it’s been a while since I made my introductory post.  I have been conjuring this post in my head since the NSA/Snowden mess hit the scene.  I sat back and listened to the outrage and the first thought that came to my head was “Did anyone really think the government WASN’T already gaining access to everything we do?”  Honestly to me it doesn’t really feel that intrusive.  At any time a facebook moderator can go view my messages and other content that is not shared with everyone because it’s their site.  Same with Verizon, I mean phone records can be subpoenaed and used to prosecute you, it’s not like there is a lot that we do that is 100% off limits if a situation warrants the knowledge/evidence.

         What dazzled me next was where the outrage was coming from.  Conservatives were upset, talking about civil liberties and freedom, which is a case worth hearing. Then the lefties were defending national security and whatnot.  This is completely opposite of what each was saying back when the patriot act came into play under GW Bush.

         I call that the flip-flop.  It seems to be the only political move any politicians have mastered now.  The move is so very blatant in conjunction with the NSA/Snowden fiasco, but it can be seen in just about every single political issue we face.  And I get why politicians do it, they are trying to get re-elected, they are trying to keep their job…sure that’s only a half ass reason, but it’s still a reason.  Plenty of people do stuff they don’t want to for their job…I’ll write about why serving our government shouldn’t be a lifetime occupation later. ;)

         Sadly though it’s not just politicians doing the flip-flop (I hear that to a 50’s type tune in my head, doooin the FLIP FLOP!), regular everyday citizens who are protecting little more than their reputations are just following along like party puppets.  I can respect just about any line of logical thinking, and I can respect what both sides are saying about this NSA deal.  But I don’t believe many people really feel what they say they do; I honestly think they are just following along like sheep.  Red and blue sheep, who are convinced that their color is superior and neither realizes they’ve been dyed a different color, or that perhaps sheep should be white...

Some interesting articles related to the NSA/Snowden: 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/08/american-surveillance

http://pressthink.org/2013/07/the-snowden-effect-definition-and-examples/