Obama's statement is not, on the surface, unreasonable. However we are not talking about a classroom scenario in which we are prioritizing our phones over othe

Obama's statement is not, on the surface, unreasonable. However we are not talking about a classroom scenario in which we are prioritizing our phones over other values. The US Government secretly built a massive illegal surveillance infrastructure for spying on the American public and the citizens of nations we consider allies! Since the programs were revealed by Snowden and corroborated by others, Obama has not once spoken directly about the excesses. He has not accepted responsibility for any mistakes, or vowed to take any corrective action. He's simply ignored the issue and let a few outspoken retirees from the intelligence community wage the PR campaign on his behalf. Many of us realize that if we can't use strong encryption on devices, the power and scope of existing surveillance will increase dramatically. Many of us realize that there has not just been a propaganda campaign by government to legitimize its surveillance goals, but outright lies reassuring the public that the data would only be used to fight terrorism (itself subject to an ever-expanding definition). As we should all have learned by now, any mention of terrorism or child abuse or accusations of "absolutism" is clear evidence that we are hearing a propaganda message. Government does not care about enforcing laws for the sake of justice, it cares about perpetuating its own power. The key insight of the American Revolution was that government should have reduced and carefully enumerated powers. Obama disagrees strongly with this. If this is what happens when we elect an former constitutional scholar to high office, I shudder to think what will happen when someone with less exposure to enlightened ideas takes the helm. Obama has never been "liberal". He capitalized during his first campaign by proposing a more business-friendly version of national healthcare, subtly eroding support from Clinton, while pretending to the democratic base that he had made fewer compromises and was more true to the party's views. Both major American political parties are predominantly conservative. This is the only explanation for the success of someone like Trump, who is an extreme authoritarian more than a holder of any specific political ideology. With these remarks we see clearly the strong authoritarian streak in Obama, and also the blatant propagandist attempting to lure us into granting Government excessive power by fear-mongering about terrorism (which was George W. Bush's most insidious trait). The key point is that we can't trust a government that has already betrayed our trust substantially and has not acknowledged the scope of illegal surveillance or sought remedies to restore the public trust. Also, the FBI's botched handling of the San Bernadino shooter's phone shows us that our most trusted law enforcement agency lacks basic competency with technology. It is not an absolutist stance to call out the lies, propaganda and mishandling of data. It's simply common sense exercised by people who actually understand the power of data and the significance of widespread breach of that privacy. In order to engage in a calm and timely debate, Obama has to acknowledge and address the excesses that were revealed. We should all expect more from our president than propaganda and fear-mongering.