During a meeting earlier today, my MDA buzzed the long buzz. I can tell by the duration of the vibration what type of notification I’ve received: short buzzes are incoming phone calls; medium buzzes are text messages; long buzzes are email messages, and really long buzzes are appointment reminders.

The long buzz was for a "Breaking News" email from Yahoo!, and it was informing me that the NSA’s secret wire tapping program had been deemed unconstitutional. I read the summary of her judgement, and it seemed logical to me: it’s unconstitutional for the government to monitor citizens without having a reason to do so. It’s an invasion of privacy, and the government shouldn’t have free reign to peak in on our daily lives on a whim. Okay, I get it.

I wonder, though, how people will react to this. I asked myself the following question:

Would I prefer to keep my pizza order to myself, if sharing it with someone in the NSA means that my family stands less of a chance of being blown up on the way to the grocery store?

Before you all start leaping out of your chairs at my gross exaggeration, consider the question in a more down-to-earth sense. Do you think people are more concerned about terrorism, or privacy? What confidence level do people have in the NSA’s ability to keep their surveillance activities limited to the pursuit of terrorists? Is it ridiculous to assume that individual liberties, like privacy, trump individual safety? Most importantly: is that even an applicable question?

If you’re looking for a political opinion from me on this one, hold on to your chairs: I don’t know that I have one.

I wish that there was a way to fight terrorism out in the open, and that the battlefront can be kept as far away from my 10 month-old as possible. But, is that realistic?

I can say two things without hesitating:

1. The government works for me, and I want them to stay the hell out of my daily life. That’s one of the reasons why being an American is infinitely cooler than being Chinese (for instance).
2. If there was a terrorist planning something in my neighborhood, and the NSA was able to catch them by wire tapping everyone on my block, I’d be all for it. Tap away.

Ambiguity makes me nuts….but I don’t have enough information to work my way through this issue.

Discuss.