Some Random Musings

Last night, I got into a conversation about how certain areas of the academic world seem to have no purpose beyond self-perpetuations, and maybe validating their own existence. It got me thinking, how much of America really has only these features for its purpose? Many politicians seem to do very little of value, and yet pander and talk and even lie to keep themselves in office. They seem to be doing little beyond perpetuating their own existence or power. Technology - it's a product, right? But really, what purpose does a faster computer, a slick PDA, or even an MP3 player with bigger hard drive serve? We do get more graphics or music or bells and whistles, but what does all that accomplish? It employs people! It keeps money going! It perpetuates a cycle of buy and replace - of validating and perpetuating its own existence.

When it really comes down to it, how much of American society accomplishes anything? We go about, living, working, existing; but do we do much of anything that has lasting value? There is so much we could do - drawing nearer to our creator, striving to save the lost from the domain of darkness, ensuring the freedom to be a light in the world - and yet, so many Christians do none of this. We need to wake up, live as Christian men and strive for our Lord and His kingdom, rather than just perpetuating or validating our own jobs and hobbies. American Christians: invest in what really matters rather than the trivial things in life.

Freedom of Speech

This past week, some rather interesting controversy has arisen at CSU. The University paper published a very short, very vulgar editorial condemning the President. The editor of the paper claims that he was simply exercising his Freedom of Speech, and trying to bring greater awareness to the rights that students have. I think that his misconception about rights and freedom is unfortunate, and actually rather common in our society today.

The freedom of speech does not guarantee you the right to say anything you want without fear of consequence. It is the freedom from the government restricting what you say or publish prior to you saying or publishing it, and freedom from fear of legal measures for what you publish or say (with certain exception for libel). The editor of the school paper, and the entire staff is learning that their actions have consequences. While no legal actions have been taken against them, the paper lost a huge portion of their advertising, the staff had to take a pay cut, the editor may be fired in the near future, and the front page has gone from color to black and white. The paper's future is in question, the editor has most likely ruined his own future - what paper will hire a liability like him? What has happened is sad, but not unexpected.

The youth of America have a terrible apathy towards many things that matter, and a misunderstanding of much that they do care about. The freedom of speech does not mean we can be vulgar and offensive whenever we feel like it, it means we can criticizes those in power without fear of being thrown in jail. All of our actions have consequences, the Collegian has learned this the hard way.

More Illegal Laws

While reading the news today, I saw a rather disturbing headline: "President's Warrantless Wiretapping Powers Extended." If you want to read the full text of the article, it is found here, but the summary is that the President signed a bill allowing the government to monitor electronic communications without a warrant, the only requirement was that a high level official "sign off" on it.

The Fourth Amendment to the constitution clearly states:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

If our persons, houses, papers and effects are protected from search without a warrant, how can the government get away with monitoring electronic communication without a warrant? When did we abandon the rule of law for the rule of convenience and "security"? Illegal, Unconstitutional laws like these cannot be allowed to stand if we wish to hold on to the liberty that we claim to value.

Big Brother Google?

I have been reading some articles about how much personal information Google collects, and how few safeguards there are against abusing this information. The whole article can be found at CNN. Effectively, between Gmail, logging searches, its IM client, and all of the various services Google provides, they could, in theory, create a complete profile of many people. There is no evidence that they have done this, but it does seem clear that they have the data to do so.

Don't worry, though, Google's motto is "Don't be evil," and according to the CNN article linked above, Google "only shares personal data with outsiders in certain cases -- such as when a user agrees, or to comply with the law, detect fraud, or have data processed." They really do have a good track record for not abusing their power, but I am wondering if that power is too much for any company, no matter how well run, to resist indefinitely.

I am not advocating any government intervention nor that you stop using Google's services. I use Gmail and I use Google for most of my searches as well as many of their other services (the irony of blogging this on a site owned by Google is not lost on me). I do think that you need to be aware that Google does keep track of virtually everything that their services are used for - even if they do no more than store the data, it is still there.

How great of a privacy concern is Google's data? Right now, not much of one. However, Google's data does have the potential to be used and abused to an extent unrivaled by any private organization in history - and rarely surpassed by governments. So, basically, be careful when you use the internet. Google is watching.