Fred precisely measured his tea out, as he did every morning. Half a glass of milk, and half a glass of water, all mixed in his specialty pot, one used exclusively for these morning tea sessions. No sugar, and a pinch of cardamom powder. After the initial mix came to a boil, he added a spoon and a half of his favorite tea powder, imported from the same tea plantation in the Himalayas, of which he had been a steady customer of for the past half century. He always made sure the concoction boiled over three times in order to get the correct strength, proper fragrance, and piping hot level of heat. After quickly straining the concoction over the sink, he added a dash of sugar to his favorite cup that given to him years ago, as a parting gift when he retired after years of practice as a military attorney. This was an integral part of his morning ritual, his daily wakeup call before taking on another ‘grueling’ day of retired life. With his steaming cup in hand, he sat down at his kitchen table to read the day’s newspaper, where he could mutter comments to himself on how the world was falling apart, now that he had left his previous position of influence.
Right after Fred was just starting to get comfortable, his doorbell rang. “Ugh,” said Fred. He forgot that his irritating, but friendly neighbor Nick would come by for his usual Wednesday morning chat. While Fred was never truly thrilled with Nick’s rambling dialogues, he secretly did find the traditional intrusions a welcome relief from the relative monotony of his week. “Fred, my good man, how are you doing?” Nick exclaimed as he eagerly shook Fred’s hand, a gesture Fred limply returned. Fred grunted in response and shut the door, as Nick plopped himself on the couch and stretched his legs. “Make yourself at home,” Fred dryly said, as he sat in his chair.
“Did you see the article on the front page today?” Nick asked. “The government wants to be able to read any message we send! It’s an absolute attack on all our rights! We have the dignity to expect that things we say or pictures we send to our loved ones won’t be seen by some random agent in front of their computer in Washington. It’s just a terrible idea, and an affront to everything this country is founded on!”
“Why would you think like that Nick? You got something to hide?” Fred said, unable to hide his smile. He knew this would rile Nick up. “You secretly plotting to overthrow our local mayor or something?” “The only people who should worry about this are people who are up to no good. Everyone else has nothing to worry about, because the government won’t be interested in them.”
“How do you know that? What guarantees do you have about that?” Nick responded, beginning to get angsty, just as Fred expected. “What I have to hide is no one’s business but my own, and I don’t have to prove my innocence to anyone, especially the government. Just because they potentially might be able to easily look into my messages—or want outside companies to make it easier for them--does not mean they shouldn’t have to get the proper warrants or clearances from the courts in order to do. They should not have an open key to look at any message or any picture they want, at any time.”
Fred leaned forward to reply. “No one is arguing for a blank check. All they are asking for is the ability to investigate whomever they want, with the proper authority of course. Once they get what they need, they’ll turn off their surveillance. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Nick was aghast. “You have this idea that they will look at one message and be done with it. That’s not how it works. They make a full copy of whatever is on your device, including chats/pictures sent to wholly unrelated persons. Your personal photos, your prescriptions, your emails, your subscriptions, etc. They get access to all these things, most of which would have zero to do with whatever investigation they are doing. If you give someone a key to a house, you can’t stop them from walking through the whole building. Then there is the reality that you are not only giving up your personal privacy, but also the privacy of your contacts. You may be having personal, sensitive conversations with them, about physical or mental issues, relationship problems, or financial difficulties, for example. All these would now be open to whichever agent looks up the file, perhaps allowing them to potentially learn information about someone they personally know. This is not something you can wave away or pretend is not a concern.”
Fred was unmoved. “The safety of everyone outweighs the privacy of a few people. If a few innocent people get their conversations read or have their pictures seen, even if they accidentally get swept up in an investigation, that’s a necessary collateral damage. I don’t say it’s encouraged, but we can expect it. It’s the price of being in a free society. Some law-abiding people will undoubtedly be caught up, but overall, it’s for the benefit of everyone. But really, the only people who should be worried are the people who are doing bad things.”
“Who decides what are bad things?” Nick responded. “We have a presumption of innocence in this country. We shouldn’t blindly give up our civil liberties at the altar of counter-terrorism, however the government defines it. That just gives our rights away for nothing. If I have no privacy, liberty and “freedom” mean nothing. We cannot give up these rights, because it is practically impossible to get them back once we sacrifice them.”
Fred doubled down. “No one is being permanently harmed in these measures. We need our cities and people to feel secure wherever they are. You shouldn’t think you know better than the people who deal with these intelligence and military issues all day—I should know, because I worked with them for decades. They are smart and capable people, and we should be willing to give them whatever information they need at any time, through whatever means or devices that we have. That is a small duty and role that we all can do.”
Nick was unmoved. “Why should we have to give up our rights whenever the government wants it? And it’s not like we can always trust the government to do things the right way or in a humane way. They constantly penalize and punish people for small infractions, costing us taxpayers $50,000 for every year they lock someone up. We can put those funds to better use.”
Fred did not agree. “If anyone commits a crime, no matter how small, they need to be punished. That’s the only way people will learn their lesson, by physically feeling the results of their mistakes. It’s not our duty to make them feel comfortable in prison, teach them while they are in it, or really help them at all—they broke their contract to society when they committed crimes against it. We should lock them all up and throw away the key. If they get out and commit another crime, toss them back in.”
Nick shook his head. “I can’t agree to much of any of this,” he said as he got up. Nonetheless, I respect your right to your opinion, as long as those opinions don’t step on my rights.” “Fair enough,” Fred responded in agreement, as they walked towards the door together. “Same time next week?” “Of course,” Nick responded with a smile.
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We often live our lives surrounded by people who hold the same viewpoints and ideas that we have. Writing from a viewpoint completely opposite to your own is quite challenging. But it has its rewards, as it forces you to understand why people support certain policies that you find abhorrent. This requires research from reputable sources in order to get into the proper mindset, then developing characters and storylines that help explain those views, while still managing to frame a respectable debate. Doing so practically forces us to exercise a different part of our brain, while requiring us to get outside the bubble we normally live in. We would all benefit from requiring ourselves to think from, and open ourselves up to, opposing points of view. Once you have a better understanding of those views, you will be far better equipped to defend against them, compounded with well researched facts that back up your debate and get your point across.
Works Cited
Akrami, N., & Ekehammar, B. (2006). Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation: Their roots in Big-Five Personality Factors and facets. Journal of Individual Differences, 27(3), 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001.27.3.117
Taub, A. (2016, March 1). The rise of American authoritarianism. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
Buchanan, P. (2018, April 20). Why the Authoritarian Right Is Rising. Retrieved from https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/04/20/why_the_authoritarian_right_is_rising_136866.html
Womick, J. (2019, October 15). Character & Context. Retrieved from http://spsp.org/news-center/blog/womick-authoritarianism
Nguyen, Bryan -. “Prisons: Reform or Punishment?” Medium, Voices, 23 Apr. 2017, medium.com/fhsaplang/prisons-reform-or-punishment-2ce135a108c7