Yes he did. The point is that having something to hide doesn't necessarily mean you're a criminal or a terrorist. Or that in some situations what our government today would classify as "criminal" or "terrorist" is in fact an act of patriotism.
We all know that history is written by the victors so I won't suggest that what Paul Revere and the other revolutionaries did was an unmitigated good.
But I will argue that needing to expend the resources it takes (salary, benefits, management, etc) to have one human being monitor another does put a pretty good check on the ability of those in power to stifle dissent. It also provides some kind of a critical threshold over which the revolutionaries can't reasonably be stopped. In many ways that's a good thing provided it's a high enough level. Once the public opinion swings the best thing to happen is for those in power to give up on suppression and start packing their bags.
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Well, Paul Revere did have something to hide.
Yes he did. The point is that having something to hide doesn't necessarily mean you're a criminal or a terrorist. Or that in some situations what our government today would classify as "criminal" or "terrorist" is in fact an act of patriotism.
We all know that history is written by the victors so I won't suggest that what Paul Revere and the other revolutionaries did was an unmitigated good.
But I will argue that needing to expend the resources it takes (salary, benefits, management, etc) to have one human being monitor another does put a pretty good check on the ability of those in power to stifle dissent. It also provides some kind of a critical threshold over which the revolutionaries can't reasonably be stopped. In many ways that's a good thing provided it's a high enough level. Once the public opinion swings the best thing to happen is for those in power to give up on suppression and start packing their bags.