Speaking of which, I think Apple is out of line, and has confused their definition of freedom to exclude them from any responsibility in the matter of helping the Government to discover information that may help to fight the war on terrorism. Of course, that means that I do believe that it is a war. Though, not a conventional war. Is war such a normal part of our existence, that there is a definition for a normal war? If I had to say, it would be that a "normal war" means sending a lot of young men, and now, women too, into battle against an opposing group of men and women. They may not be marching in the straight lines that wars were once fought with on battlefields, but lines are drawn, and each side tries to win the other's territory.
However, terrorism has no lines, and is designed to allow a few to disrupt the lives of innocent people, in the hopes that the terror they create will enable them to win their war.
As I have said for years, though not here, I think that the most political play I know is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Because, if people truly believed that love was the most important quality of life, they would never live the way they do. We would change the world; at least, our world. And, if each person changed their world for love, the world would be a different place to live.
Instead, people complain about the corruption of life that we are surrounded by in a sick world. And, expect that it is just normal, business as usual. Or, someone else's problem to solve. And so, nothing much changes. Because, the majority of people don't take responsibility for their lives, and change them. Whether it is because they are incapable or not, depends. I wish I believed that education could cure all the world's ills. Certainly, it provides a hope, that an educated population may be capable of seeing problems more clearly, understand what's wrong. And, be healthy enough to be able to change, fix them.
But, how long will that take? You don't change most people in a couple of years. Most never change. They are too afraid of life to change. Romeo and Juliet weren't afraid. And look what happened to them. They were caught in the sickness of their families' feud, and their love was destroyed by it. Our fear and hatred murders life.
To get back to Apple, that is what the Government wants to stop. But, Apple wants to protect its customers. Is it a form of treason, justified by a self-righteous definition of freedom of speech? Ask yourself what you would do if you might have information that could prevent another terrorist from murdering other innocent people? Its a simple question. And, it should have a simple answer.