IP: thought after the Conference on National Security in the

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

In 1784, Ben Franklin, the founder of the University of Pennsylvania said:


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
 safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."


In the Information Age, we will be constantly faced with the need to see if
we still believe Ben. Information War, issues of Crypto and it's control and
the privacy rights of citizens, will strain our form of government. Can we
control the use of advanced communications  and computation by criminals and
terrorist (domestic and foreign) and still have the real freedom of speech?
Can we defend against Softwar and Sadam like propaganda on CNN and still
have freedom of the press? Can we be Americans in spirit and use Softwar
techniques to fight future conflicts with it's possible direct harm to
civilians and it's "not nice" image to our citizens? Can one maintain a
proven representative form of government in the era of both declining
respect for government and increased capability for instant referendums?
Will such a change destroy our real democracy and further replace it by TV
directed opinion molding -- Vance Packard is still worthwhile reading?


If we are to remain the nation we are, we must openly discuss these issues.
What will the Constitution look like 50 years from now?


The meeting in Colorado was, for me, one small, but necessary step, in the
process this nation will have to undertake.


Dave