Cry me a river! It's inconvenient to have neighbors applying for jobs in the defense and intelligence sectors because you might get interviewed ("Secrecy industry hits home," Commentary, July 26)? You blame the loss of neighborhood camaraderie on the fact that local children grow up to work for NSA, etc. Let's be real, the historic decline in citizens participating in civic life and neighborhood exchanges is nationwide and cannot be solely attributed to the presence of the intelligence and defense industries.

The problem facing national security is not the increase in surveillance — thank God for surveillance! The true problem is our porous borders (including all points of ingress: airports, seaports, etc.) that allow virtually anyone who wants access to the U.S. in, whether they be an illegal South American immigrant who desires economic gain or a Muslim terrorist bent on assassination. Restrict access and immigration, legal and illegal, and the need for surveillance will diminish accordingly.

Susan Ford Keller, Finksburg