In a city whose core value seems to be cynicism, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is dangerous. He is sincere in his suspicion of the National Security Agency and its domestic spying.

Wydens dogged pursuit of the NSA is detailed in Ryan Lizzas article (State of Deception) in the Dec. 16 issue of The New Yorker. Lizza describes how Wydens core of support in the Senate grows with each new revelation of the NSAs long reach. Wyden calls his group the Ben Franklin Caucus, in reference to Franklins remark that a society that will trade essential liberty for short-term security deserves neither.

While Sen. Wyden voted for the Patriot Act in 2001, he has voted against all long-term extensions of the act.

The unsettling tone of Lizzas report is that the NSA is slow to level with officials who are nominally the agencys superiors. Even a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee such as Wyden must corner the NSA before it will come clean.

To Lizza Wyden said: If you spend enough time digging into these documents and doing the work, it can pay off. The one advantage that I have, being on the Intelligence Committee, is a chance to get access to information. But you really have to fight for it.

President Obama has been a disappointment when it comes to reining in the NSA. Of the presidents Dec. 20 press conference, The New York Times editorial board wrote: (Obama) left the impression that he sees this issue as basically a question of public relations and public perception.

Sen Wyden, on the other hand, sees this as a matter of constitutional legitimacy and right and wrong. In that sense, he resembles his predecessor Sen. Wayne Morse, who voted against President Lyndon Johnsons Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, in which Congress gave LBJ a blank check to run a war in Vietnam.

A relatively small proportion of Americans believe that NSA spying is alarming or threat to their personal lives. But just as Wyden has gained adherents with every revelation he unearths, more of the American public will awaken as time goes by.

It is essential that Congress comes to terms with the NSAs domestic spying program. Benjamin Franklin was right. We are fools to give up our freedoms.