Taking Stock of Personal Responsibility

As I was growing up, I had a set path for going through school and college. Part of that was my parents, who brought me up in a supportive but somewhat coddled environment - study hard and the rest will take of itself. But I realize that this is not true - many aspects of growing up, such as finances, career choices, and relationships do not take care of themselves. The education system is grossly inadequate for preparing young adults for this challenging yet important part of our lives, and I felt that my family and background also did not do so. These last few years, going through two schoolings and arriving into my professional life, have given me more chances to take more responsibility for my choices and actions, and I expect myself to know more about the challenges of going through life and owning up to my choices and actions.

Personal responsibility can be politically dangerous, and is often associated with Republicans and/or Libertarians' agenda in disguise. But it should not be. It is more important than ever in these uncertain economic times, when young adults face an uncertain future for ourselves and our nation. Personal responsibility built our nation and its people from the beginning, and will continue to do so in the future. For me, it means taking more ownership for my actions, whether they be related to career, health, finances, love, and relationships. My parents, with deepest gratitude for them on this Father's Day, cannot guide me through my life henceforth - I must do so myself, for better or for worse. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BtqElO1OX4
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjA4MDU2NjQ=.html

Civil Liberties and Privacy in Peril

This week has been troubling for our nation's civil liberties, namely the people's right to privacy and freedom from unwarranted government intrusion. On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed police  to gather the DNA of arrestees to help them solve unrelated crimes. That decision drew justified dissension from Justice Scalia and civil liberties groups. Besides its unsound application of Fourth Amendment precedents, the opinion gave too much deference to the police, as if pretending that the State would not abuse its power to collect DNA for ulterior purposes, and minimized the loss of privacy, which surely was great for arrestees. We shouldn't be less sympathetic just because arrestees are involved - any of us can be arrested and what rights taken from some are taken from us all.

Compound that is this week's revealing of massive surveillance of American citizens by their government and collection of communications records by the NSA. It has drawn justified debate about the extent of government surveillance necessary to protect Americans from terrorism while maintaining their civil liberties. And finally, President Obama and the politicians have to be candid about what's going on. What is discouraging is the muted response from Congress, with many politicians (besides Rand Paul) too spineless to criticize the NSA's actions. While the intelligence community and politicians will try to muzzle the media and informants, this timely revelation advances our ideals of a transparent government and having the people (through the press) check on their government.

These happenings are not surprising and shows what happens what the government has too much power and lacks transparency. The checks and balances prescribed by the Constitution failed because Congress lacks the will to speak up and investigate, the Executive Branch predictably stretched their powers under the Patriot Act, and the judiciary fails to be an independent check on the powers of government. In fact, the judiciary has done the people disservice by trusting the government to not abuse its powers, whether under the Patriot Act or the Fourth Amendment, and by shielding activities of the FICA from meaningful review. What will ultimately drive change will be the people. It might not be easy to advance the cause of civil liberties, especially when terrorist threats remain, but it is necessary to safeguard our right to privacy and check on the power of government.