Privacy

I find myself puzzled (more than usually) over the issue of telephone privacy, specifically the monitoring by NSA of telephone calls and emails.  Why would anybody care if NSA has monitored such communications?  The real issue is: who has access to this information?  I don't really care if the NSA knows my phone and email messages.  There's nothing there of any real importance to the government.

I guess the NSA cares about the violation of their own privacy by Edward Snowden.  In my opinion he did the right thing.  I'm in favor of more transparency in government, generally.  In this case letting terrorist groups know we were listening for them might prompt them  to take more precautions, and that's not a good thing tactically.  But  the issue that has been raised is our so-called right to privacy. Few have objected to the exposure of our intelligence-gathering techniques and how that might in the long run endanger us. 

To me the privacy issue is absurd.  I might object if non-governmental groups or individuals had access to bank information or business conferences.  If I had a girlfriend I would probably not want my wife to know.  Actually, I would certainly not want her to know.  But why would the government give a damn?  Who cares what they know about me?  The IRS already knows a lot more about me than I want them to, so closing that door is more than a little late. What could the NSA possibly find out from my emails and phone calls that would be remotely harmful to me?  I'm missing something here.

Clearly if I were doing something illegal like money-laundering or drug sales I would object to anybody knowing anything.  But I certainly don't care if NSA stops criminal activity. More power to them.  If I were President (see  6/9 blog) I would encourage them to listen more.  There's nothing in the Constitution about privacy, other than a rather distant interpretation of the section on search-and-seizure.  Clearly we don't want governmental authorities going through our closets.  And certainly we object to the authorities using information they have gained to harass and intimidate US citizens without due cause.

But limited search, such as the NSA looking specifically for evidence about terrorist activities, seems unobjectionable.  They're not looking for "everything/anything"\, they are looking for something specific. How are innocent individuals being harmed by this activity?

I don't object. I have nothing to hide (evidence of a relatively uninteresting life).  What am I missing here?