Most of us don't want anyone poking around our lives, even if we're perfectly innocent. (Though with a little manipulation, anybody can be made to look like a troublemaker.)
Believe it or not, our founders saw this coming.
James Madison, the Constitution's primary author, wrote the First Amendment to protect everyone -- especially people who disagree with the government's policies. We all have a constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.
The Bill of Rights is the only thing standing between us and fascism. Monitoring the things we say is the first step toward prosecuting them.
So am I a dissident? I don't know. I don't care.
The important thing is that I've become passionate in my defense of our constitutional rights. I have an inalienable right to freedom of speech, and I'll continue to exercise it -- even at the risk of getting locked up again.
As more of us tough it out in prison, the government will lose its power to take our rights away. As more of us write and speak about government overreach, our chances of preserving our freedoms will grow.
It's worth the risk.
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