An open letter to Agent Mike (and his FBI/CIA/NSA colleagues)

Agent Mike et al:

You may read this and think it is satire or comical or sarcastic, but I promise you the questions posed at the end are among the most serious you and your colleagues will ever read. I understand that you cannot reply. You have a job to do that requires you to keep your distance and watch from afar. I respect that. You have to keep an eye out for loons, kooks, nuts and legitimate threats to the president and others. It is a thankless task, and many people probably resent it. But, whatever I think of the man, I still respect the office of the president and don’t want to see harm done to him. It is one of the reasons I am so confounded with the Secret Service: Why did they let him sit in that classroom for seven minutes on that terrible September morning? Shouldn’t he have been whisked away to safety? I don’t know the answer, but I do know I am glad we did not lose the president that day.

But he is just a president. He is not a king. He does have to follow the rule of law. He cannot issue orders by fiat. And that is where you come in. Simply monitoring Internet traffic is perfectly legal – given enough free time and a powerful enough computer any private citizen could do it just as easily. But there is a line. You know where it is and you know not to cross it. As we have learned this past week, some of your colleagues were ordered to cross it. Reportedly, some at the NSA said, “No.” Others did as they were told.

In the not-too-distant future, you may be asked to do something. It may be a simple request or an order from the president himself. It may not seem terrible at first glance, but in your gut you’ll know it’s wrong. What will you do, Agent Mike? Will you join history’s Fascist foot soldiers who claimed they were only “following orders?” Will you cross that line or will you refuse? You will have to decide whom you really serve. Do you serve the president or the people? Do you serve the people that are in those offices or do you serve the office itself? Do you serve a handful of leaders or do you serve the Republic of the United States of America? Will you uphold our Constitution or will you help shred it? Will you defend our Democracy or will you destroy it?

These are the questions you and your colleagues will have to answer. These aren’t questions you answer out loud and I doubt you’ll be discussing them with anyone. They are questions you have to answer to yourself to satisfy your own conscience.

When the order comes, Agent Mike, what will you do?

Signed,
A very concerned American

:cry: :cry: :cry:

I want my country back.

Peace.

but I don't want my house surrounded by black SUVs.

The FBI is supposed to PROTECT me, dammit, I shouldn't be afraid of it... :(

policeman Mike and so on.

But if we get that far I doubt it will really matter...

:hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi:

Whe you go about your work, remember you might be on the same list. How would that feel?

Happy Holidays to you, your co-workers and all government employees. Take the rest of the day off. If your boss has any questions, tell him I said it was OK!:beer:

edit:sp