“We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government.” —Justice William O Douglas
Perhaps some will read this and the knee-jerk reaction might be, “Oh, there goes one of those tin-foil-lined hat rants again…Like the government doesn’t have anything better to do than watch, “me.” Perhaps on some level, thinking of the government having citizens under surveillance harkens back to Soviet-style citizen oppression, much less being an inefficient and wasteful use of valuable resources. This issue, however, focuses on the incidental happenstance of average citizens and the likelihood of being caught up in something few contemplate or even envision.
You’re watching the news and a story about bombs and explosives airs and part of the interview features some law enforcement mouthpiece claiming, “The bomb was constructed from instructions readily available on the internet…and materials bought at local hardware and home goods retailers…” You have never given thought about building a bomb, much less how to build one. So, being bored you grab your laptop and Google, “How to build a bomb” Sorting through the various hits the topic garners, you spend all of ten minutes searching and reading. All you really want to know is if the claims made have any credibility.
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