Lindsey Graham on Verizon: If we’re not talking to terrorists “we don’t have anything to worry about”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) must have studied his Police State Handbook before giving an interview regarding the Verizon scandal. The U.S. government was granted unlimited authority to obtain the records of all telephone calls in the Verizon system if at least one of the parties was in the US.

All of the classic manipulative language was present to justify the invasion of privacy when Graham discussed the matter with Fox News and expressed his personal delight at being surveilled.

“I think we should be concerned about terrorists trying to infiltrate our country and attack us and trying to coordinate activities from overseas within inside the country…

…I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government’s going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States. I don’t think you’re talking to terrorists. I know you’re not. I know I’m not. So, we don’t have anything to worry about.”

The argument here is that “If you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to worry about.” It is an encouragement to sacrifice your privacy in order to get some kind of  perceived safety. The boogeymen are paraded before us in an attempt to frighten us into complying for our own safety.

The magnitude of this surveillance undertaking is stunning. Don’t be placated by mouthpieces like Graham – privacy is not about hiding something wrong. We lose our freedom to be ourselves when we are constantly watched. As well, privacy is our defense against those who are looking for something wrong in order to dominate us.

“If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.”

~ Cardinal Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis