Security and Democracy

When Mr. Obama announces that security is incompatible with privacy, we citizens wonder, “What other rights will we have to give up in the future in order to ‘guarantee’ security?” Maybe this man will end up thinking that democracy itself is incompatible with security. Others thought that before. I still remember them — we called them dictators.

We are talking about the fundamental principles of democracy and of the rights of citizens. I worry about the future. Remember when a judge’s order was needed to have your house searched or your conversations listened to? What times! I am worried about the present.

And perhaps the worst part is that the debate between security and privacy is false: The fact that the United States spies on the same European Union leaders and governments they consider to be “friends” is an unmistakable sign that the espionage has nothing to do with security. It satisfies unlawful interests.