It is the U.S. taxpayer who funded the governmental research and development of the technology that has propelled humanity into the Digital Age. Access to information, an expanded capacity for social networking and robotics are some of the many fruits of this technology.
Who benefits most, of course, is the U.S. government itself.
The U.S. government is perpetually selling itself as a democracy. This is a deliberate deception. Yes, U.S. citizens have experienced a real, unprecedented, all-inclusive rise in prosperity in the decades after WWII. There are basic human rights that have stood the test of time.
But the fact is that there are powerful elements of the U.S. government that do not believe in democracy. There are white supremacists, ultra-nationalists, Christian fundamentalists and neo-liberal economists. These are authoritarian ideologies that hold fiercely to a basic principle: there are the “elect” and there are the “damned.” They themselves, of course, are the “elect.” That gives them the right.
In the hands of an authoritarian governmental apparatus, the technology of the Digital Age has grown into an indispensable weapon of surveillance and control.
The U.S. government is such an authoritarian governmental apparatus. Since the mid-20thcentury, it has been the ambition of the U.S. government to dominate the planet with its military might. It has succeeded beyond all conceivable expectations, having amassed stockpiles of weapons that exceed those of all the other nations combined.
Now, the U.S. government has attained the omniscient eye of empire.
We, the citizens of these United States, have bought and paid for the technology that now allows the U.S. government to spy on us and collect instantly, stealthily all of our digital interactions, personal and business, to be used as evidence against us. The U.S. government is hiring the best minds, those who can go anywhere they want in the digital realm, to keep up with the stunning advances in the industry and to conduct the perpetual wars of dominance in cyberspace.
Surely, in a country calling itself a democracy, the citizens have ample reason to object. This is an unacceptable intrusion.
Ralph J. Dolan
Haydenville