Ross... Bureaucrats... and Privacy... and Stalin... and Hitler... and All the rest...

Ross believed in Resurrection for all... and he was not referring resurrection after death... but resurrection while living... "Everyone has the potential for epiphany and resurrection while living...," he postulated...

Ross's friend, the building/mechanical maintenance caretaker, planted a tree in front of the school in memory of Ross... And now the tree whispers with the February wind... reminds me what it could have been and what it could be... Ross respected my privacy and never tried to prey into things that belonged to me... My thoughts and my ways of living... 

I lived far from the school... I drove more than an hour every morning... early in the morning to avoid the congestion and traffic... I did not mind the drive for two reasons... First, it gave me time too organize my day in my mind... and when I was at school, I was ready to function properly... Second and more important, I was far away from the school environment such that the admin or the teachers or the students or their parents could not interfere in my private life... 

Ross on the other hand thrived on communication with students and their parents and teachers... and admin too... and he walked to school every day... rain, snow or shine... He had his straw hat and the black umbrella... That was enough protection for him... He loved to associate with people... with students, and laugh with them... converse with them... He loved to walk with them too... whenever that happened... and it happened quite often... He enjoyed the company...

It was not that he did not prize his privacy... but he loved to associate with others and if that compromised his privacy... he was ready to pay the price for that... he did not mind... He loved to meet students on the streets around the school where he lived... he was at times an open book... that everyone could enjoy...

We were very different in this respect and each one of us respected the other's way of life... It did not bother us... and as Ross will put it: "We were allowed..."

He was Diogenes without a lantern... He was a mathematician without numbers... and he was one of the happiest person in the school... in my life... 

But his personal way of living did not hinder him to hate passionately the "Big Brother..." He did not like intrusive government... He did not thrust bureaucrats  and apparatchiks... and that's was why we had that wonderful friendship and intellectual affinity... 

We were different, but both of us wanted "Big Brother" to stay away from us... he always cringed when the Law was walking the hallways... and when they pryed open one of the student lockers... He understood the necessity, but still did not like it... he looked for students who were in contradiction with the law... and talked with them... attempted to befriend them... and genuinely wanted to understand their needs... "Why they were doing what they were doing" was fascinating to him and he wanted to comprehend... and help... instead of just busting the locker and punishing them... He had student-friends who were in clash with the law... and to some who had stayed in touch with him... helped financially too...

For Ross money was to help people and not deprive them from being human... For him there were no "sinners"... and everyone had the promise for rise above the day to day stumbles... he did not dwell on the fall of a person... but stressed the potential to rise... and be resurrected... 

He believed everyone had the potential for epiphany... and of course resurrection.

...

I though about all these yesterday... and it drained me from my energy... and I did not post anything...

The controversy about he government and Apple... bothered me... and I engaged in a "dialogue" with Ross... and I realized that both of us will support Apple and avoid the intrusion of the apparatchiks in people's life... 

Ross did not have a mobile phone... I have one, but I never use it... I have it so as my family may locate me whenever necessary... during my long walks and while I am by myself at home... 

But we would not like the intrusive ways of the "Big Brother"... Ross formulated the situation at the time; "It's not the government of the people, and for the people...," he said, "but rather the people for the government..." 

He did not like it... It's not that he did not want to pay taxes... Money was secondary for him... But he did not welcome the "Big Brother" intrusion in our life... 

But 1984 has arrived... 
Read the book... See the play... watch the movie... You'll be better person for it... 
Ross asked the principal once; "Would you like Stalin or Hitler or Mao Tse Tung  to watch you..." 
The Principal said; "But those are bad people..."
"I rest my case..." Ross concluded and walked out...

***

Here is what they say... and where the controversy stands...

In his statement on Sunday,FBI Director James Comey said the debate over Farook’s [the San Bernardino terrorist] phone showed how “awesome new technology…. creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure –- privacy and safety.” And of course he sides with safety and wants a backdoor to people's privacy... 

Apple attorney: Unlocking San Bernardino shooter's iPhone would open 'Pandora's box'... He added that Apple has cooperated with federal authorities but must "draw the line at re-creating code, changing the iPhone." 

Creating the code will open a back door people's privacy... and harm business... as others who are outside the jurisdiction of the North American law... may use and sell the encrypted phones... 

Tim Cook [CEO of Apple] ...sent a letter to Apple employees saying, "The case is about much more than a single phone or a single investigation. At stake is the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding people, and setting a dangerous precedent that threatens everyone’s civil liberties.”

"The order would set a legal precedent that would expand the powers of the government and we simply don’t know where that would lead us. Should the government be allowed to order us to create other capabilities for surveillance purposes, such as recording conversations or location tracking? This would set a very dangerous precedent,"