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Opinion

Right to privacy not to be toyed with

Adam Blake
Opinion Columnist 

Look, up in the sky: It' a bird! It's a plane -- Actually, it is a plane, and one day it could be watching every move you make.

Å6£8Å6£8Å6£8SkySeers, remote-controlled airplanes fitted with cameras, are being looked at by the Los Angeles Sheriff°Øs Department to help officers in various situations like catching fleeing criminals and finding missing people. Though these tasks seem innocent and may benefit the 10.5 million people living in Los Angeles County, they could be the stepping stone for something that threatens our right to privacy. These °°drones°± should be studied closely and should not be something Americans take lightly.

In George Orwell°Øs novel 1984, Orwell wrote, °°Big Brother is watching you.°± Many Americans have visions of an invasive Orwellian government °™ and in fact, they aren°Øt that far off. In June, America learned of a warrantless surveillance program through the National Security Agency, which was authorized by President Bush. People have said we shouldn°Øt worry if we°Øve done nothing wrong, but the fact remains that such a power in the hands of our leaders easily allows those who make the laws to break the social contract with their constituents.

With regard to the SkySeers, some people have argued that they will help decrease the cost of policing Los Angeles. But in general, the savings from any government project don°Øt seem to get passed on to citizens. The long-term damage such a project could create may lead us to ask ourselves what we have done. Once we, as a society, start thinking about selling our rights to privacy, we know we have stretched our dollars too far and should begin demanding some form of action from our politicians.

The federal government is a bloated entity as it stands, filled with personal pet projects such as a $223 million bridge that links part of Alaska to an island inhabited by 50 people. Why not get rid of such projects and pass the savings down to the citizens by providing us with a universal health care plan, a higher minimum wage or more localized public transportation in major American cities? Why not provide the American people with hope instead of constantly trying to instill fear and promises of some kind of savings get lost in the red tape of bureaucracy?

Much to the likely chagrin of our founding fathers, we are selling our rights piece by piece. Must we wait until there is a camera on every streetcorner, a bug on every phone and a tracking device on each of our cars? While any of these could be beneficial to a society, we often forget that life isn°Øt about worrying about whether al-Qaida will get us or if there is a mugger hiding behind every bush. Life is about enjoying what we can and not letting fear control us. Once we begin to embrace a life of fear and allow ourselves to live under a government that is permitted to keep track of ordinary citizens, then we can no longer be considered free.

Remember, our justice system was established on the basis of innocence until proven guilty; we mustn°Øt treat ourselves as criminals and have to justify our innocence. The line in the sand must be drawn, and we need to determine where that line is. Otherwise, before too long, we may become our own worst enemy. 

Blake, a guest columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
may be reached at thaseint@gmail.com.