George,

This is the single most important political issue to me. Cameras pointed towards public property offends me to the the core. I am deeply concerned!

I cannot believe I am quoting the ACLU here, but this is the complete point:

"You are building in a surveillance infrastructure, and how it's used now is not likely how it's going to be used two years from now or five years from now," says Mr. Steinhardt of the ACLU.

We built this country on the presumption of innocence over guilt. We built this country on the basis of total freedom. Do you really want to walk along the Downtown Mall knowing your face is being recorded? Sounds East German to me. Oh I've been told that cameras work... that they curtail crime. Well ... so does racial profiling. Working does not make it right.

Recall what Ben Franklin had to say about balancing liberties and safety: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."

It is time for our politicians to read the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and reflect. Do not reach for the quick political fix. Consider your child's world. Then, think long and hard about Soviet surveillance and call me.

Tyler Sewell (electronic mail, March 5, 2002)