We are watching our government break the Fourth Amendment, and we are doing nothing about it.
- US Customs can take your laptops, iPods, cell phones, etc, at the border as you come back to the US, and read and duplicate anything they want without cause.
- The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution says :
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.
How hard is this to understand, folks? The government is breaking it's own laws. Right in front of you. Every day, all day. Why aren't you angry? Fearful? Do you not understand that these actions, if left unchecked, snowball?
If we do nothing, how long will it take before we are unlawfully searched when leaving the country? How about when leaving the state? Our homes?
If I had the funds, I'd take a trip out of the US. Every week. Every single week carrying a computer with every form of encryption I could find on the data it contains until someone asked me to surrender my property for search. Just so I could say "No."
Rosa Parks stood her ground and said "No" when someone asked her to move to the back of the bus. Some people have been heard to question the bravery of her actions on consideration of the idea that she planned to make her stand. I say that this makes her even more brave. She had time to consider the consequences of her actions.
This was a different nation, then. [Insert current PC term for people with skin tones lower on the gamma scale] had to face the realities of beatings, reprisals, and possibly death for such actions, but Rosa took the chance.
Times are different now, but there are still risks; police killing you with supposedly non lethal weapons like tasers, gang rape in prisons, and incomprehensibly long terms and wait times for small offenses are serious weapons in the government's arsenal to help keep their power unchecked. You can try using the media to help keep you safe through attention, but you have to hope that the media finds your case interesting enough. Unless you're a young blonde female celebrity harlot, your odds aren't good.
Still, someone has to challenge this reprehensible practice in order to give the courts the chance to act. Somewhere out there, I pray there is one person, contemplating a trip out of country, who is brave enough and strong enough to make the choice to say "No."
Whoever you are out there, I for one will protest for you. I'll contribute toward your legal fees. I'll evangelize for you out here.
Meanwhile, I'm entering a lot of "free Vacation" giveaways. And I'm encrypting my laptop. You know, the one with the big bio-hazard symbol on it.
