The Walls have Eyes

I recently read a book called 1984, by George Orwell. The book was all about Orwell’s idea of what the future will be like, with dingy prospects and an overly controlling government called the “Party.” Through his main character, Winston, he emphasizes the fact that the “Party” is always watching its citizens: the posters have eyes; the telescreens are watching and monitoring from anywhere and everywhere. When I watched the YouTube video showing you instance of police brutality, I thought of Orwell’s book and our modern ideas of surveillance.

We should be thankful that our government is not so controlling as to place watchful eyes even in our homes. But I think we’re coming close to having even our personal space invaded. There are hardly any public places where you can go that does not have some sort of surveillance camera. Even if you are walking outside in a city, you could be picked up by a camera at a traffic light or outside of a store.

I once heard that a person is caught on camera approximately eighty-three times a day. Eighty-three is a big number for those of us who live at home! I do not know about the rest of you, but I certainly cannot come up with eighty-three places I could be caught on surveillance a day.

Granted, I am not totally against surveillance. As stated in the commentary of the police brutality YouTube video, the surveillance of one officer’s act cost him punishment for this obscenity. If you agree as I do with James Madison that the human race is not held by civic virtue, then surveillance is a needed crime-stopper. For that it is an invention of genius. Surveillance is an aid to those individuals or companies who have been wronged unduly. In our increasingly crime-riddled world, the camera fits well.

Perhaps I am slightly paranoid, as was George Orwell. I see my personal space shrinking, along with everyone else’s personal space. I find myself asking a similar question Orwell’s Winston asked himself while deciding whether or not to go out on a limb of betrayal: how much of my personal freedom am I willing to give up to be protected by the government’s surveillance techniques?