This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
President Barack Obama promised the American people the National Security Agency wasn't reading the content of their emails. Well, why not? Obama and NSA Chief Keith Alexander have never been deterred by the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, nor by our right to privacy, as recognized by the Supreme Court.
So why isn't the NSA scanning our emails for content that would tip its agents off to potential terrorist activities or sympathies? Why isn't the NSA recording all of our phone conversations? Why isn't it keeping track of every web search we make?
Why don't government officials recruit spies from among us to report on our suspicious activities? Why don't they generate a file on everyone they believe has a deviant political or religious philosophy? Why don't they round them up?
Obama and Alexander haven't taken these steps because they know Americans won't stand for them. But Americans shouldn't put up with any blanket surveillance of their activities or any infringement of their rights.
The NSA's domestic spying programs should be dismantled and Congress should take action to make certain it can't be reinstituted again.
Christian Probasco
Salt Lake City