Rest Assured: The NSA Will Keep On Spyin’
The US Congress is debating what it should do about NSA spying right now. They’re trying to decide if they should roll back their powers; if they should limit their capabilities, and if they should put in place additional “safeguards” to allow them to continue doing what they do, but with a little more “privacy” for us. We see groups of congressmen pitted against each other. Some are the “pro civil liberties” types. Some are the “strengthen national defense” types. Some might be genuine. Some might be putting on a show.
But, the bigger point is…the whole thing is a show.No matter what, governments, particularly the US government, do whatever they want. “Law and order” types like to say “but this is a nation of laws…we have checks and balances” etc. Their cognitive dissonance inhibits them from realizing things might not be as they thought. Governments have always spied on their own citizens. All governments see their own subjects as the greatest threat, the group needing the most controlling and propagandizing. External groups don’t need as much controlling. But, they use the external groups as threats to the internal population so that their own subjects “need” their “services”. It’s all part of their racket. They spied before they gave themselves permission with the Patriot act, and they will continue doing what they want, no matter what.
We might find the program changes names, changes agencies, gets alternative funding, etc. Congress is only the show the government puts on for the citizens to make us think we are in control; that we have a say; that “we are the government”. In reality the bureaucracy, police state, and global empire are self-motivating, self-directing, and will continue to act in their own interest, and for the benefit of their financial backers.
This comes in many forms. Whether done out in the open or behind the scenes; the state grows. Not once ever, has the US government reduced its own size, scope, or budget in a permanent and meaningful way. We get tidbits here and there, again for the public show; that taxes lowered some such percent, “we’re pulling out of some war”, restrictions on something are loosening, or they’ve curtailed domestic spying. But, in all cases we always see the rebound – where the cat gets let out of the bag and we see no significant change was ever made. Taxes keep rising, the regulations keep growing, wars are continual, “threats” are everywhere, and yes sadly, spying on us (for our own good) will continue.
See Robert Higgs here for an overview of the concept of the continual growth of government.
