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How is this not incredibly terrifying? They use security and safety as justification for continually reducing our civil liberties and privacy. They act as if

How is this not incredibly terrifying? They use security and safety as justification for continually reducing our civil liberties and privacy. They act as if the whole of the nation is criminal.

CWuestefeld 14y ago
That's true, but it's not just that. Their assumption is that for the continued operation of our country, the most important thing -- in extreme, the only critical thing -- is the operation of the government. I believe this is absolutely false. It's not our government that has made America great. It's our people, our culture, our industry. Thanks to all of this, we thrive in spite of the government.
- drharris 14y ago
  This is definitely the truth. Only recently in this country have people put the government on this kind of pedestal; it smells of nationalism. For years, we existed without any central government, and then for years with a relatively weak one. If the government were to go, it might not actually be the worst thing...
  - nirvana 14y ago
    Speaking of controlling communications-- this entire thread, which was #2 on HN when I first saw it-- has been buried because it is not sufficiently pro-obama. Meanwhile the latest uneducated screed about how the banks caused the housing crisis (false) and are EVIL!, will always stay way up on the first page of HN for hours if not a day or so. I can't stand this censorship on HN. Well, it wouldn't bother me if the HN core audience weren't constantly saying "We're objective and open minded!"
    - CWuestefeld 14y ago
      Downvote: 1) You can't possibly make a factual statement like it "has been buried because it is not sufficiently pro-obama". You can't know other people's reasons for not up-voting. 2) HN is a private service that can feature whatever content it likes. If they choose not to link to something, that's not censorship -- censorship is something a government does to you. 3) You can't call someone's decision not to up-vote an article "censorship" in any case.

How is this not incredibly terrifying? They use security and safety as justification for continually reducing our civil liberties and privacy. They act as if the whole of the nation is criminal.

CWuestefeld 14y ago

That's true, but it's not just that. Their assumption is that for the continued operation of our country, the most important thing -- in extreme, the only critical thing -- is the operation of the government. I believe this is absolutely false. It's not our government that has made America great. It's our people, our culture, our industry. Thanks to all of this, we thrive in spite of the government.

drharris 14y ago
This is definitely the truth. Only recently in this country have people put the government on this kind of pedestal; it smells of nationalism. For years, we existed without any central government, and then for years with a relatively weak one. If the government were to go, it might not actually be the worst thing...
- nirvana 14y ago
  Speaking of controlling communications-- this entire thread, which was #2 on HN when I first saw it-- has been buried because it is not sufficiently pro-obama. Meanwhile the latest uneducated screed about how the banks caused the housing crisis (false) and are EVIL!, will always stay way up on the first page of HN for hours if not a day or so. I can't stand this censorship on HN. Well, it wouldn't bother me if the HN core audience weren't constantly saying "We're objective and open minded!"
  - CWuestefeld 14y ago
    Downvote: 1) You can't possibly make a factual statement like it "has been buried because it is not sufficiently pro-obama". You can't know other people's reasons for not up-voting. 2) HN is a private service that can feature whatever content it likes. If they choose not to link to something, that's not censorship -- censorship is something a government does to you. 3) You can't call someone's decision not to up-vote an article "censorship" in any case.