Wednesday, June 26, 2002
|
Wednesday, June 26, 2002 |
|
I always feel like somebody is watching me By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Big Brother is watching, which is scary because that show is terrible. O.K., seriously, it may not be watching yet, but it will be in the future. At least according to the creators of the hit film, "Minority Report" and author George Orwell. In fact, Orwell predicts that the public will come under intense governmental scrutiny in the year...1984! Oh no! It has already happened! Run! Actually, this is no laughing matter. Since the terroristic acts of Sept. 11, the Government's stripping away of civil liberties thus leading to the public's lack of privacy seems very plausible. Some cities like Tampa, Fla., already have cameras in populated areas scanning the faces of the crowd. They claim they are looking for crimes in action or criminals with outstanding warrants and that if you have nothing to hide that it is no big deal. Still, I hate the thought of some guy in an office watching someone pick their nose from several different angles and making more money than me. In "Minority Report" the police find out about crimes before they happen from a trio of pale mutants called "PreCogs," which stands for pre-cognitives. They dream about crimes and the pre-crime force goes out and stops them before they happen. This raises questions about free will, predetermination, manipulation of the future and using mutants like kids in a sweatshop. I mean, there were no murders in Washington D.C. for six years in the film. These precogs were working some serious overtime. I think most people are uncomfortable with anyone watching what they do, much less the government and people with guns or three bald mutants in a pool of milk. If we start putting cameras everywhere and start looking inside everybody's home, what's to stop the police from bursting in every time somebody yells "I'm gonna kill you" at the television or the video game they're playing. And what if networks buy the rights to some of the video footage and bring back Bob Saget for a form of "Funny Home Videos" where people don't send tapes in or win any money. Bob Saget just watches you load the dishwasher or do an exercise tape and makes up funny ad-libs that make a couple in Boise, Idaho dribble milk from their noses. This would be a very bleak future indeed. Let's face it, reality programming is very popular and you can't get more real than watching Bob Saget watching people do chores and making fun of them. I hate crime and I'm all for stopping it, but we must not go overboard and violate a citizen's right to privacy. Now, one should not be able to commit murder willy-nilly. In fact, nobody should do anything willy-nilly, but murder especially. However, murder is not an epidemic. It happens, but it is not the leading cause of death. Perhaps, people could sign themselves up for full camera or pre-cog protection boring people who don't mind a camera watching them knit or read Chicken Soup for the Chicken Soup reader. I would not sign up however because I would throw a box of Kleenex across the room during a football game, like I did last year, and the police would think it was a domestic disturbance, and I'd end up in the back of a cop car. Of course, the police would probably increase their scrutiny of the people who didn't sign up for the program, figuring they were the ones with something to hide. Welcome to the 21st century. The century of paranoia and privacy invasion. Make sure you cut this column out of the paper and shred it after you have read it. I think they are already on to me. |
