There is no word in the Russian language for “privacy.” That’s not surprising, considering Mother Russia gave birth to Big Brother.
What is jarring is that some tinpot dictator in a little Long Island town named Riverhead has no concept of the word, either.
Riverhead’s Chief Building Inspector decided to use Google Earth to take a satellite stroll through homeowners’ backyards and nail the folks who had pools but didn’t have the required permits. While the Chief Spy, er, Inspector admitted, “a lot of people don’t like the idea of an eye in the sky,” he also tried to put an altruistic face on this highly-suspect practice by adding that the fear of someone drowning outweighed the concern over privacy.
This guy must think we’re all wet.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, legislation was passed fast and fearfully in the name of keeping us safe from terrorism. The USA Patriot Act, which arguably did more to chip away at civil liberties than any bill passed before or since, enjoyed broad bi-partisan support and became law on October 26, 2001. The terrorists had, indeed, won.
Fact is, you cannot legislate against life, which is messy, chaotic and dangerous. Try as we mere mortals might to keep ourselves wrapped in a cozy cocoon, nature is a wild child and no manic Mary Poppins act is going to keep the cosmic kid from raising holy hell when the mood strikes.
What I find even more insidious is how politicians are now using the “fear factor” as an excuse to raise money for community chests ravaged by the current economic meltdown. If you want to pick my pocket just say so, but don’t hand me a line about protecting my health and welfare while levying a tax against tanning salons or using espionage to root out recalcitrant pool owners. (Note: Riverhead has already garnered a cool $75,000 in fines and permit fees.)
I’d love to lay this knee-jerk reactivism at the feet of our feckless leaders, but it seems we only have ourselves to blame. In an age when we rely on too many conveniences, take in too many calories and live too many years, we’re more than happy to leave our existence to elected court jesters who profess to really care about us. Too bad I don’t feel the same way about them.
We have a pool here at my co-op and, the other morning, a rat was found doing the backstroke in its well-maintained water. I wonder if he was just hot or on a reconnaissance mission.
The death of American privacy is the next BIG issue on everyone's plate. All of the companies we do biz with track us, the govt. tracks us...let's issue the national id cards and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteIf only you were right, Mr. V. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam has made sure we're so focused on losing our jobs, our money and our lives, we barely notice he's pillaging the Bill of Rights. This trend will only reverse itself when "We the People" realize that democracy and capitalism are, in fact, two separate systems and that the American Dream has nothing to do with houses and iPads, and everything to do with freedom.
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