How are we not scared to death? Or at the very least really really mad?
Literally everything that we do is tied up in technology. We bank online, we shop online, our entire identity can be found online. So when the topic of our government infringing on our privacy comes up, I expect more people to be outraged and intimidated. This is seriously scary stuff. But, during the interview that we saw most people didn't even know about what the U.S. government was up to. Even worse, most of them didn't seem to care. I feel like we would almost rather be ignorant even when our rights are being infringed upon.
Edward Snowden released a lot of information regarding the NSA's surveillance operations. They are receiving civilian phone records; they are scanning through civilian emails. Sure we already knew that the government was keeping secrets from us. And sure we accept that it's probably for our benefit. This is different! What do they gain from having our phone calls? And yet, we were only really concerned about it for a few months. How does something so important to us as a society fade into obscurity so quickly? As a civilian who stores the majority of her information on her computer I am appalled.
As a nation we shouldn't just allow people, especially the people in charge of our safety, to have complete unquestioned access to our private lives.
The problem is that as time progresses we're going to get more and more technologically advanced. We need to establish boundaries in the beginning so that our lives don't turn into a dystopian science fiction novel. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not too thrilled with the idea of having my identity injected into the back of my neck so that I can be corralled into a giant pig pen.
I agree with your standpoint on this issue. Boundaries should definitely be established now while we still have say so in what is going on within our society. The government has seriously crossed significant lines with monitoring the personal aspects of our lives. There is no reason for this to be occurring and no explanation can be given by the government to make this issue alright. This is very much so an invasion of our privacy as individuals within society. You are completely right in your argument when you say they gain no benefit from this type of "surveillance". This claim of surveillance is not in our interest in any way.
ReplyDeleteIt is also terrible to realize that not many people know what is going on concerning our government. These issues should definitely be brought to light and people need to become aware of what is going on. If people are aware, they will be more able to make the right decision based on the facts they are presented with rather than the supposed "facts" the government continuously feeds us. It seems like, if things continue the way they are going now, our identities are going to be snatched away. We are going to become a number in the eyes of the government. I would rather not have my identity up for grabs either.
I completely agree with your opinion that people would rather be ignorant to the situation, than to recognize that their rights are being infringed upon. I was shocked to learn that so many people are uneducated about the government's surveillance of us. After watching the interview of Edward Snowden, we discussed how it took the knowledge of the government extracting "dick pics" to recognize that this is a problem. People were outraged when they first found out that the government had access to what we thought was private. If people are so upset about their privacy being invaded, why has no one taken a major stand against government surveillance? I do believe that, as discussed in class, if no one stands up for our right to privacy, nothing additional will be done to protect it. I think that there are multiple reasons why we haven't taken a stand, one being the Bystander Effect; this is a way to avoid taking responsibility in a critical situation. Everyone thinks that someone else will take the stand against government surveillance, so therefore they don't need to spend the time getting involved. Another reason is that people tend to think that they aren't being surveyed, other people are. We deny the reality in order to continue living in our fantasy world of protected privacy. Neither of these reasons are good enough excuses to justify our inaction during this critical time in the history of technology. I am honestly scared of what the future holds if we don't put a stop to the government's invasion of our privacy.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, the government seems to be gathering information just because they can. Most of which is not even necessary to have. However, when that information is compromised it will be a huge problem that will not be easy to deal with. I side with you completely regarding the boundaries that should be implemented. Better safe than sorry.
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