Big Brother Is Here

In his celebrated book entitled “1984,” George Orwell predicts a future culture where “Big Brother” watches over us depriving our society of any privacy.

It’s obvious to me that we are there. There is no expectation of privacy anywhere in our lives. And for the most part, we ask for Big Brother to keep an eye on us.

I admit that I welcomed Big Brother in….and most of you are right there with me.

Google Maps asked me if I will allow them to turn on my location, I said yes. I did it because in my previous profession, when I was in downtown St. Louis, I needed to know where I was in order to determine where I’m was going. Now Google has everything it needs to track my movements.

My wife and I have a feature on our I-phones that allows us to track each other’s movements. It’s called “find friends.” I can look down from a satellite to determine which building she is working in at any given hour. It’s not because of any lack of trust….its just convenient to know when she is on her way home.

 

But please understand…I overheard someone say we need cameras on poles in downtown Fairfield recently to keep track and prevent vandalism. Well those cameras can also help record our public movements.

I don’t worry because I am not likely to be prosecuted for throwing a brick through a vacant building…but our privacy and personal freedoms are something we abdicate each and every time we say “yes” to our technology.  

Our cell phones are beacons and cameras on street corners are the eyes of our government. Orwell saw it coming in 1949 when he penned his classic.

We can’t fight a war to protect our privacy.

Because Big Brother has already won.