As an American, do you ever feel bullied by your government? There are several different ways Americans are bullied by their government. Let’s start with the Internet. The SOPA/PIPA acts would have allowed the government to decide what can be seen on the Internet—talk about big brother! In 2011, Aaron Swartz was arrested on allegations of breaching an MIT computer network and illegally downloading 4.8 million articles from the JSTOR archive. He faces a possible 35-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine, if convicted in a trial that’s slated for Spring 2013.
The marijuana ban is another act of bullying by the government. Propaganda claims that marijuana causes insanity and murderous impulses. Pot has actually been legal for most of human history, and 18 states allow it for medicinal use. The National Organization to Reform Marijuana law projects that 13 more states may be legalizing pot in the future.
As part of Operation “Stellar Wind,” a homeland security measure, the National Security Agency (NSA) is building a $2 billion data center to crack and store the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, Google searches and miscellaneous personal data. The government has even begun to justify drone attacks on American citizens if the target poses an “imminent threat,” but there is no published definition of how “imminent” the threat must be.
Do you think the government has crossed the line in these instances and has reached bully territory? What’s next? Please share your thoughts in the comments section and check out the infographic below.
