TERRORISM & FEAR MONGERING WILL BE USED TO ERODE CIVIL LIBERTIES

Today's Woolwich Observer carries the following Editorial by Steve Kannon, the Observer's Editor, titled "Fear unfounded, but will be used to curtail freedom". While the chances of any Canadian here at home being a victim of a terror attack are extraordinarily small, nevertheless they are not zero. Far more likely any given Canadian will fall courtesy of a car accident, heart disease or cancer.

Steve believes that certain vested interests will use these exaggerated fears of terrorism, home grown or otherwise, to curtail Canadian civil liberties and freedoms. As he states " Misperceptions are one thing, but the fear they generate has some really scary consequences, namely the abuse of privacy and civil liberties by all-too-eager authorities.". While there are indeed obvious political and social causes of various forms of terrorism around the world we must not in North America over react to terrorism and the fear it breeds. Again Steve Kannon suggests "there are vested interests with financial and other incentives to call for beefed up security, military spending and even more restrictions to our civil rights and liberties.".

Steve is specifically talking about domestic spying and intrusions on our privacy allegedly in the name of national security. It will be about collecting data and information irrelevant to criminal activities but more about public control. Steve suggests that this information, that is none of our government's business, would result in misuse. In fact Steve states "Misuse would be rampant". Past examples of fear mongering in the U.S. obviously would include the McCarthy era hysteria around individuals with "Communist" leanings.