An open letter to my elected representatives

To: George W Bush, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Anna Eshoo
Subject: Please give us real security, not more of the PATRIOT Act

After today’s tragedy in London, there will doubtless be calls for increased security in the United States. I am writing to ask you to direct the discourse toward effective security measures, not theatrics like the so-called PATRIOT Act, which sacrifices essential liberty without even providing temporary safety.

We need to protect the nation’s infrastructure: energy, transportation, food, water, and communication; and we need to support our emergency responders who must be ready to act in a crisis. Keeping nail scissors off airplanes will not help with this. Keeping bomb-laden shipping containers out of our ports will.

Ultimately, we need to go to the source: stifle the funding that supports the terrorists in the first place, and solve the problems that inspire people to join them. This will require global cooperation to solve a global problem. Please focus your efforts to advance real security in the world.

Sincerely,
Max Rible Kaehn