Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Iowa Capitol with my oldest daughter for her fifth-grade field trip. Watching her walk through those halls while she’s been deep-diving into the Bill of Rights really hit home. It’s one thing to read about the Amendments in a textbook; it’s another to see how they are (or aren’t) being protected in the real world.​

It reminded me of Benjamin Franklin’s famous warning in 1755:​

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”​

Honestly, in 2026, the word “purchase” hits differently. We are literally being asked to “buy” the convenience of modern tech by selling off our Fourth Amendment rights. Franklin saw this trade-off for exactly what it was: a total scam. If we keep trading fundamental liberties for a little bit of tech-driven “security,” we’re going to wake up and realize we have neither.​

The Foundation is Cracking​

If our Founding Fathers were here to see the surveillance state we’ve built, they wouldn’t just be shocked, they’d be ready to start the Revolution all over again. The Fourth Amendment was designed to protect us from “unreasonable searches and seizures,” yet today we are facing a digital assault on that promise:

• CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies): The potential for total, programmable financial surveillance.
• Kill Switches & Geofences: Tools that can track or disable our movement and devices at the push of a button.
• FISA Abuse: The systematic bypass of our privacy rights in the name of national security.​

The government shouldn’t be able to search your texts, emails, or calls without a warrant. Period. Yet under FISA, that is exactly what is happening. When a fifth-grader can look at these technologies and recognize they are a threat to our rights, it begs the question: Why is the rest of the American public still hitting the snooze button?​

Reality Mirroring Fiction​

We cannot allow “government overreach” to become the new normal. Once these precedents are set and the technology is fully integrated, there is no going back. I’ve spent months exploring this mass surveillance state in my novel, but seeing it leap from the page into reality is terrifying.​

If you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, just look into the data-mining power of companies like Palantir. The technology surveilling us right now would send the Founders “to the moon” with disbelief.

Accountability Starts at the Top

​I believe in holding our leaders to the fire. I have reached out to Congressman Zach Nunn (Iowa’s 3rd District) to demand answers on these issues, and so far, there has been total silence.​

This is unacceptable. Our representatives work for us, and they have a duty to protect the Constitution they swore to uphold! If they aren’t standing up for our privacy, then they aren’t standing up for us.​

Wake Up, People! 👁👄👁

We are at a crossroads in 2026. We must protect the Fourth Amendment at all costs before the door to our privacy is locked forever. It’s time to stop accepting “safety” as an excuse for surveillance.​

I have already reached out to Congressman Zach Nunn to demand answers, and I’m asking you to do the same: call the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 and tell your representative that our constitutional rights are NOT for sale. ❌️