JUNE 23, 2009

 By

 Joseph Chez

Should the U.S. Constitution be amended to protect the right of today's citizens to use and bear today's digital-electronic technology in order to defend themselves and their  freedom  from government infringement?

At one point in history, swords were the method of choice by tyrannical governments or kingdoms in order to suppress dissension from its people.  Thus, dissidents resorted to the use of words and ideas for which swords were impotent to stop or destroy.  Ergo, the argument became that the pen was mightier than the sword. 

Immediately after the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, the concern turned to giving the citizenry protections from oppressive governments.  Thus, in 1788 the United States Constitution was ratified which provided for many of our present rights and protections.  Yet, the new nation realized the Constitution needed to be amended in keeping pace with changing times.  Consequently, in 1791, the United States Constitution was amended with  the Bill of Rights which included " the right of the people to keep and bear arms" and that such right could not be infringed by the government (Second Amendment).  In part, the 2nd Amendment was meant to give the citizenry a right to use and bear arms in order to protect themselves and families from a potentially oppressive government.  it was reasoned that by having a well regulated armed militia, the citizenry could equalize their power against the power of a potentially well armed and oppressive government. 

Today however, in a 21st Century social revolution scenario, the world takes note that citizens in Iran are effectively using today's latest technology to keep informed and to inform the world of their quest for freedom.  With the help of today's computer technology i.e., www., e-mail, Twitter, MySpace, and Utube, the Iranian dissidents appear to be changing today's paradigm of a social revolution in today's modern world.  But more importantly, the "cell" phone, as opposed to a land line phone, is clearly the rising star of the Iranian revolution.  This is because the Iranian regime has effectively blocked the world-wide web, so the young Iranian dissidents have skillfully used their cell phones to document this historic event,  their efforts for freedom as well as the government's heavy hand.

And yet, there is a flaw; cell phones being used in the United States of America as well as in Iran, carry within their SIM card, mother board or memory card, special technology required by their respective government's internal security.  This special tracking technology was created by Nokia-Siemens as a device to give governments the ability to control all cell phone traffic analysis.  With this technology, government in the United States as well as in Iran, are able to track any and all phone conversations, intersect specific phone calls and their contacts, store information, triangulate the callers location, as well as shut down the use of cell phone transmission if necessary.

In fact, the United States federal government required this technology to be imbedded in every cell phone in this country as part of the Patriot Act.  Since then, our government has been able to track and intersect your and my cell phone conversations.  The danger however, is that this technology clearly "infringes" on tenets of our constitutional freedoms.  Further, while we have come to depend greatly on computer technology for such things as the right of assembly, political speech, and other individual needs, such present technology appears to be today's modern  tool for maintaining our freedoms.  Regrettably, our government has also taken steps to take control of those freedoms - at will.

Therefore, WHEREAS, our United States Constitution is a living document, in order to maintain and protect our personal freedoms of today, it becomes necessary to amend the 2nd Amendment to include the right of citizens to own and use, without fear of persecution or interference, present digital and electronic technology, and this right will not be abridged or infringed by local, state or the federal government. .........