Gordon Forgey

A great question facing America is the correct balance between security and personal privacy.

Government should do what it can to protect the country from dangers and threats.

The kicker, of course, is how far government can and should go to provide that protection.

Right now a national debate is swirling over various federal programs that collect data on telephone and Internet communications in the country. Reportedly, the information collected has been likened to that found on telephone bills, not the content of those communications.

Still, the uproar is building.

Those who have intimate knowledge of the programs claim that they are invaluable in protecting the country from terrorist threats. These programs are governed by laws. They undergo Congressional oversight

As with many programs, the problem is not with the intent.

It is with execution.

Such programs rely upon the good faith and integrity of those operating them. They depend upon conscientious scrutiny of Congress.

That is part of the concern. We have seen some real shoddy performances by government. Take the Internal Revenue Service, for instance. Take, too, the continuing failures of Congress to do its job.

In this environment, abuses are certainly possible, and scrutiny is essential.

The country cannot and should not relinquish its need to know, and this debate is good and essential for our democracy. Yet, a basic understanding in the debate must be that the public cannot be be privy to everything. There are things that by their very nature cannot be totally transparent. This is where trust comes in.

The real problem may not be that information has been withheld. It may be that trust in government to use that information correctly is missing.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher