Out of all the amendments in the US Bill of Rights, the 3rd amendment has been the most successful. It's clear, precise, and for two centuries everybody understood what it meant. Only New York arguably managed to screw it up.
So why remark on this success story? It's because the dual protections it embodies of privacy from the eyes of government agents and a protection from the demands of supporting same are starting to be challenged. The government agent is no longer the loutish soldier who might rape your daughter and steal your horses but rather a tiny little microchip who will spy on your behavior while driving and robs a bit of gasoline in its upkeep.
This sort of thing, taken to much greater heights, was labeled one of the "Intolerable Acts" that caused the American Revolution. Now that it's starting to make a very modern comeback, we all need to nip this in the bud.
Posted by TMLutas at September 2, 2003 09:54 AM