Blogging at the Big Dog

Anyone who is willing to trade liberty for security deserves neither and will lose both.

I suspect almost everyone has heard something along those lines. Over the years, it’s been attributed to numerous individuals, most famously Ben Franklin. But regardless of who first uttered the sentiment, anyone who cherishes freedom should really take those words to heart.

I found out something very disturbing the other day. It seems, anyone who wishes to sell or purchase property in Canada is now “required” to fill out yet another form in the name of “national security.”

“An Individual Identification Information Record is required by the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act,” the document reads.

Personally, I am outraged. At the very best this is yet another example of knee-jerk post-9/11 policy designed to create the illusion that someone is doing something to make us more secure.

At worst, it is yet another infringement on individual privacy and freedom that basically creates a record for secretive government agencies and turns every citizen who desires to be a property owner into a suspected terrorist.

What I find most disturbing is that nobody with whom I have shared my outrage seems to be disturbed by it in the least.

“If you’ve got nothing to hide, what’s the big deal?” comes the inevitable response.

The big deal is anyone who doesn’t have anything to hide shouldn’t have to worry about not hiding what he doesn’t have to hide. In other words, it’s the principle of the thing and, contrary to the apparent apathy of my 21st century compatriots, principles are extremely important.

For example, on Oct. 18, we passed the 79th anniversary of the landmark “persons” decision in which five dedicated Alberta women altered the course of Canadian history. In a nutshell, the Famous Five successfully challenged an archaic law that kept women from being eligible for appointment to the Canadian Senate. They stood on the simple principle that women are persons.

Without principles there can be no social progress and, if we allow the erosion of the principles on which our fundamental freedoms are founded, we will soon find ourselves regressing and losing the freedoms themselves. We’ve already seen how new terrorism legislation has allowed our government to trample disgustingly on the rights of its own citizens in the cases of Maher Arrar and others in the name of “national security.”

“The problem with defense is how far can you go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without?” Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1953.

A very good question, indeed. The world is, always has been, and always will be a dangerous place. The pursuit of perfect security is futile and a slippery slope that diverts attention and resources away from programs that may actually be able to do some real good. The Individual Identification Information Record, while perhaps seemingly innocuous, is simply a violation by government of our personal privacy and a complete waste of time and resources that should not be tolerated in a free society.