Isn't it amazing how the National Security Agency can make us feel so much less secure nowadays?
The agency was set up to provide security for the American people by gathering intelligence about possible or known enemies. And many of us had little reason to think much about the NSA because we believed that it was on our side, looking outward for foreign enemies that would look to destroy our free way of life.
But suddenly, how much fear do we have now that it was revealed that the NSA has actually been conducting surveillance on we the people, and even some of our staunchest allies around the world?
Now, we might be making jokes about e-mails and text messages we send out being read by the NSA, but our joking might very well be covering up a real truth - we have become scared and fearful about our own government.
In some way, we may be more fearful about what the NSA sees from us online than we might be about the burglar who is scoping our businesses or homes looking for a strike. Might the NSA be forcing us to take our eyes off the ball?
A burglar in the neighborhood is an imminent threat to your business or your family. But we often send out personal, private information about ourselves in e-mail messages and text messages - everything from addresses and passwords to pictures of our children to revealing inventory numbers to justify a new clearance-sale ad campaign.
There is a question in the court system about how far does property extend when it comes to private property rights. Is it just the business or home that the burglar could access, or does that property extend to data about individuals online? Is the e-mail message a form of private property, like a postal letter that cannot be opened by a member of the Postal Service while in transit?
Is it safety, or paranoia, that would get us to think about a way to put in a security "camera" in our e-mail and other electronic data to spot when an NSA "burglar" is gathering our information, or attempting to do so?
Would the NSA be cited for burglary, or at least breaking and entering when it comes to digital information?
While the technology hasn't quite caught up the NSA to be able to "spy" on the Agency to alert us when our information is being compromised, we can still keep our eyes on the ball when it comes to our businesses or homes. We should just face the reality that as long as we are in life and not hiding in our homes, there are threats to our security and safety. But while we can't do much about the NSA right now, we can send a message to anyone else that our property and freedom is ours - and we will protect and defend it in any way possible.
But think about this - the NSA is funded by we he taxpayers, so should we not have a right to spy on them and know what they are doing and when and why? We like to know when there are suspicious characters around our property; we think it's only right that the same expectation be placed on the NSA. Would the NSA continue to gather info on us if it knew it was being watched?
Would a burglar rob your home or business if it knew it was being recorded on a camera or otherwise observed? Yeah, we think the burglar would quickly transform into a runner, or at least just an average Joe walking down the street. And that's what we want - an average Joe on the street, because that is a potential customer. Let us help you initiate that transformation.
Whether you serve the NSA in the future is up to you, however. We can't help you with that.