Trust me.....

All electronic systems create records.  My computer keeps track of my keystrokes, so it can restore what I've just deleted.  Internet providers keep records; Google tracks my searches, reads my e-mail (so I'm told); websites keep track of how often I visit; credit card companies have records of my purchases; and so on and so on and so on.

The only question is:  who has access to this information?  There is no question the information will exist, will be created and stored, will be available.  Apparently it's available to enough people to populate a large city (which should be, but probably won't be, the true scandal).

And then it comes down to a question of trust:  do you trust Google, Verizon, Amazon, et al.?  Do you trust the government, and it's army of contractors?  Let's put that in perspective a moment:

The number of people holding security clearance is equal to about 1.6 percent of the population of the country.

So, quite literally, an army.  How many of those people have access to your personal electronic information?  Apparently even people with only three months employment (whatever happened to probationary periods?) can see this stuff.  And do you trust them all?

Well, you have to, don't you?  The government is now telling us there are rules and restrictions in place about this information and how it is used and who looks at it.  How do we know? We just have to trust them, don't we?  And if we don't?

Disconnect from the internet; cancel your cell-phone. Unplug your landline.  Buy a fountain pen and a ream of paper.  Invest in envelopes.

What other choice do you have?  The electronic records will always be created; and you will always have to trust that someone somewhere is following whatever law is supposed to govern the access to and use of those records.   Do you?  Can you?

What choice do you have?