There is no shortage of outrage in response to revelations of dramatic increases in government surveillance since 9/11. I am deeply disappointed. While it might be both naive and unfair to the president, I hold President Obama in high regard as a leader and thinker and achiever. My hopes have been placed in him in ways that seem like how my father had high hops for JFK. I really wanted him to reduce the partisan polarization of elites crippling our political communication and believed he could do it. He certainly has made it a priority. And perhaps threats to national security are such that I am wrong to be disappointed about continuing the surveillance program.
Have we become the delivery mechanism for the terrorist threat? With technology changing so fast, is privacy no longer possible; is it just a quaint notion from a previous century disappearing with telephone booths? How will individual and family and community level privacy be either advanced, or further undermined, by the fact that big players (states in the recent summit between Obama and Xi) share an interest in finding ways to protect intellectual property and contain cyberattacks?
And when will our elites find new ways to come together, respecting the outcome of elections and allowing opponents to govern, with a loyal opposition ready to compete for its chance to govern after the next election?
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