Dear Whiners who want the government to have more power so you feel "safer,"

Idiots like you who simply fall for whatever line you've been fed are jeopardizing our freedoms. All of our freedoms. Because you're wimps. Allow me to explain.

Today I was looking at a HuffPo article about the Apple vs. FBI debacle. The article tries desperately to pass itself off as reasonable. Problem is it's HuffPo, so I wasn't fooled. The article opens with this:

Apple's decision to challenge a federal court order to help the FBI "hack" into a shooting suspect's iPhone 5C is drawing into focus a battle which has been brewing for the past several years.

The way this debate has been shaped thus far is, as follows: which do we value more, privacy or security?

Firstly, let's talk some facts about the incident in question. The government FUBARed what happened in San Bernardino. We've already documented a lot of it, so lemme break it down here: terrorists were allowed into the country. They killed 14 people. The local authorities got access to the iPhone belonging to Farook. They effed it up by trying to access it, thereby resetting the phone. Now the FBI is demanding Apple write software which will undermine the security of all iPhones to get into "that specific phone." And if you believe the FBI will only use that new software to access that one phone, you were born in a land before toilet paper.

Before you nuclear turd bombs say "But, but, the FBI needs access for US TO BE SAFE..."

Don't. Spare me your spineless, weak, desperate attempts to sound intelligent. You're a wimp. If you're a man and you are siding with the government over this iPhone debacle, you're without testicles. Which is convenient for your skinny jean-wearing ways. If you're a woman, you're probably a feminist. There's no hope for either of you. I'm merely writing this post to expose just how pathetic you are. Trigger-warning: comparisons to bodily functions abound.

Here's the deal: Yes, the government has a responsibility to keep the nation safe. But when it comes to the FBI vs. Apple, we're well past safety. The government did not keep us safe. Proof? The terrorists were let into the country in the first place and they killed people. Also, our borders are as effective as a strainer is at holding water. If you think gaining access to all iPhones is the best solution to keep the country safe...

Here's where all of you butt wiping-ninnies are missing the point: You think it's about a phone. Wrong.

This is about a much bigger issue that begins with privacy and ends with freedom, the phone is just the vehicle. Let me try to illustrate my point. Your phone is an extension of you. Yes, this might sound silly, but bear with me for a second. Your smart phone has more than your photos. It has your financial information. It may have an app for your bank. It contains personal conversations with your friends, family, co-workers. It is a map giving you directions. It knows where you have been and where you are going. It can track your health, it reminds you of your tasks, it contains a schedule of your life. It knows who you call, who you have called, who you plan on calling. Your phone is an extension of you.

What the FBI wants is the ability to access that phone, which Apple built to be secure. If you're dumb enough to say "well don't keep anything on your phone you don't want shared with the world..."

I volunteer you as tribute. Why stop at just the phone? Just let them into your house. If you don't want the world seeing embarrassing things, don't keep them in your house. You never know, one day the FBI might need to come in without a warrant. Your freedom, your privacy, is subject to the safety of the collective...as deemed by you.

That's the real, bigger issue here. Safety vs. Freedom. It's sadly a point that is lost on many who focus on a problem that isn't the actual problem.

Are you seeing the bigger picture or you trying to figure out if the trees are poplars or pine?

You see, having freedom doesn't always mean having safety. Yes, sometimes the world is a scary place. Sometimes when the government fails at what it's required to do, like keep the nation safe from other nations or, in this case, terrorists who seek to do us harm, it's easy to give up your rights in hopes you can sleep safely at night. But that's how we lose our freedom. It's been done countless times before, just ask any ten year old who's been patted down by the TSA.

Having freedom, having privacy, requires personal responsibility. Sometimes that means you protect yourself. That's why we at LwC love our Second Amendment rights. Which, incidentally, plenty of liberals also say we need to give up for the "safety of the collective."

Sometimes you are not only responsible for your own finances, but your own safety. The government, after all, is just a collection of elected officials who employ other people and talk to the public with the use of a teleprompter. The government is people like a corporation is people. Except the government people take from the corporate people to finance their crap. Sorry, going down a bunny trail there...

They're not better at life than you are. Surrendering a little bit of your freedom to these elected officials for a little more safety is insane. Also, "safety" is rarely defined. Put that in your pipe and smoke it before a liberal demands to stop smoking it because it affects them.

Here's a mental exercise for you to bear in mind if you're cheering on the FBI vs. Apple: Where's the line? At what point do you say the government does not have a right to sacrifice your freedom for safety? Today it's an iPhone, but what will it be tomorrow? Where is your personal line? If you think it's okay for the government to have a backdoor entrance to iPhones, for terrorists or for you, you must have a personal line in the sand. So what is it? Think about it. For by the time the government has crossed the iPhone line, they'll queue up to cross your personal line. If you're willing to let go of freedom now for security later, you've already bought into the scam.

I'll close with this quotation from our Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (often misatributed to Thomas Jefferson): "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

~Written by Courtney Kirchoff. She uses an iPhone and would love to keep it encrypted, thank you very much.