John Stossel on Embracing Civilian Drones

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To some, the unmanned flying machines known as drones conjure up fears of spying and death from above. Which makes sense: President Bush approved the use of armed drones against suspected terrorists overseas, and President Obama vastly increased their use. Drones have killed thousands of people in places such as Pakistan and Yemen, countries against which we have not declared war.

The next controversy will center on the increasing use of "civilian" drones, writes John Stossel. But these are actually terrific devices, he argues. Vacationers use them to videotape family trips, farmers to check crops, police to search for missing people. Soon, most everyone might have one—if our too-big government doesn't try to quash this innovation. Technology itself is rarely a bad thing. What matters is the endless power of the market to refine and improve how we use it.