In the United States, public power exists by the consent of the governed. It is meant to serve the people, not to monitor, punish, or profit from them. Yet an unsettling pattern is emerging across the country.
In one American county, local officials used drones to fly over private land without a warrant. With no emergency and no constitutional authority, they peered into residents’ lives. It may have been "legal," but that doesn't make it right.
This wasn't a national scandal. It didn't involve federal agents or secret courts. It was a case of ordinary bureaucrats using extraordinary tools to surveil ordinary people. The greatest danger is not always the tyrant on a throne—it is the inspector with a drone. Today, America faces not a single dictator, but countless minor ones, each operating under the illusion that public authority is their personal property.
When public servants:
• Use state resources to pursue personal grudges
• Exploit codes and fines to punish disobedience
• Conduct surveillance with no accountability
• Treat government power as an extension of their own will
Then constitutional rights are not protected; they are bypassed. The most dangerous abuses are often not dramatic—they are routine. They hide behind official forms, policies, and "standard procedure."
Public Power is Not Personal Property
As Patrick Henry stated, "The Constitution was written not to restrain the people, but to restrain the government." Government officials must remember that their power is temporary, their authority is limited, and their duty is to the Constitution—not to convenience, money, or personal control.
Public power must never become a private weapon.
This page is a warning. It is not a comment on any specific legal matter or an attack on any individual county. It is a clear declaration: when surveillance, code enforcement, and administrative power are used for intimidation, punishment, or profit—democracy is already under attack.
Next: The Tools of Control
From cameras on highway overpasses to automated fines, modern enforcement is often designed less to promote safety and more to generate revenue and track citizens without cause or consent.
On the next page, we will explore how technology is being turned against the people, and what the Constitution says about it. Liberty cannot survive in a society where the government sees everything and answers to no one.