Terrorism, Apple, and THAT Constitution

It is becoming impossible not to be angry with a number of fellow conservatives. It is no wonder we’re at the precipice we find ourselves when so many we technically agree with adopt stances worthy of progressive societal engineers. Some might blame the Trump effect and that might be part of it, but the root of the problem is older than his campaign. Indeed, it is why Bushes, McCains, Grahams, and Nixons have held as much sway as they have. For all the great things Trump says, his popularity for blasting political correctness and finally bringing sanity to our immigration policy, he’s convinced that the only thing wrong with our federal government is poor management.

Alas, there is so much more wrong in D.C. The problems there are systemic, almost fundamental as it has become a twisted version of what it was meant to be, using the same legal language it was founded on to reach the opposite conclusions the Framers had intended. Like a virus, progressivism infected the host legal body so that its legislatures and courts would reproduce more progressivism rather than more liberty. Trump runs on the slogan, Make America Great Again. Its purpose was to conjure up images of the late industrial era; thoughts of hardworking Americans building skyscrapers, driving new cars and putting astronauts on the Moon. We hear that and we’re supposed to be reminded of a time where our pride still ran deep and mighty works constructed by our dreams and labor bore witness to our greatness.

These are notable things, and we’re better for them. But they’re not the reason we’re great. We’re great because of an idea, a tiny seed that grew into everything we’ve become. The idea that man should be the master of his own destiny. Not simply that man is part of something greater as progressivism believes (usually the scheme of someone “greater”), but that something greater is a part of man. It’s worth rehashing the flowery language because there are entirely too many conservatives who forget it based on the topic.

If you haven’t yet, please take the time to read to read the letter Tim Cook wrote on behalf of Apple. Why can conservatives recognize the carrot and the stick routine of bribery and fear mongering when it comes to entitlements but not National Security? Why does their hard and fast adherence to our founding principles become a little fuzzier when someone utters the magic word, terrorism? Why have a die-hard, literal interpretation of the Second Amendment but not the Fourth? A fair summarization of our founding philosophy is that power shouldn’t be granted to the State due to the risk of abuse.

Psssh, abuse nothing, we’ve got terrorists to catch. Who cares if you have a greater chance of being killed by lightning?

Conservatives are justifiably angry about our horrific PC immigration policy and wide open borders, but then turn around and agree that the same government that runs that fiasco should have greater surveillance powers on all of us because of it. The man who would be our candidate if we applied our principles consistently, along with Congressman Justin Amash and Judge Andrew Napolitano, bring up another concern with what the government has ordered Apple to do. In addition to the potential to abuse the Fourth Amendment that law enforcement would have Apple has also been ordered by the force of law to create something that doesn’t exist for government purposes. Something which is, in reality, the equivalent of a skeleton key for every lock because they want to unlock one door.

It’s frankly startling that people on the right could possibly not have a problem with this, especially while Obama is still in office. He’s proven time and again he can essentially do whatever he wants without fear of repercussions. The risk of abuse of government power is not some abstract concept, IRS and wiretapping members of the press ring a bell? The entire left-wing of the nation is essentially one giant hate group now, and they have frightening political power. Even if the idea of using this for the purposes of combating Islamic terrorism is alright with you, the American left has made it abundantly clear that they put Tea Party, traditional marriage, pro-life, and Second Amendment advocacy groups in the same category as Islamic extremism. Usually they consider them to be even worse.

For the love of all that is good, holy, and patriotic conservatives, stop giving progressives the weapons that they use against us!

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