If you want to consider the overall situation a little more, click here for my essay on Security Vs. Freedom. I wrote it in reponse to a contest sponsored by Shell and the Economist, but when I was done, I figured it really wasn't what they wanted to hear. |
Look Out for the Cable Guy Posted July 19, 2002 The Bush Administration aims to recruit millions of United States citizens as domestic informants in a program likely to alarm civil liberties groups. (SMH) Oh, we live in interesting times! The first interesting thing is that I first learned of this from The Sydney Morning Herald---That's right, folks, as in Australia. Seems there was also an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which tells us, Operation TIPS is a part of the Citizen Corps, an initiative announced by President Bush in his State of the Union address. Say what? What the president actually said in the State of the Union address was: One purpose of the USA Freedom Corps will be homeland security. America needs retired doctors and nurses who can be mobilized in major emergencies; volunteers to help police and fire departments; transportation and utility workers well-trained in spotting danger. Nothing there about citizen spies, except the vague reference to utility workers, lost in "feel-goodism" as the president went on to talk about mentors for children and Americans extending compassion to every part of the world. But why, if people---any people---were aware of this in January are we only hearing about it six months later? The figure being quoted is that the Bush administration plans to recruit one in every twenty-four Americans to spy on the rest. That language, of course, comes from the opposition. I guess who you trust depends on your politics. If true, however, we would have more citizen informants than former East Germany had through the infamous Stasi secret police. Of course, we are assured that TIPS (The Terrorism Information and Prevention System) will never be abused, and it is not the government's intent to get Americans spying on one another. The question is, once this mechanism is in place, can ya stop em? If someone reports seeing several bags of white powder in someone's garage or basement will that be ignored because it doesn't have anything to do with terrorism? What about if it's only a joint on a bureau or an overheard conversation about an illegal cable box or fudging on income tax? Is it beyond the scope of imagination that people who "support terrorism" by opposing the president's policies might be targeted? What if it's just a matter of an obscene remark by someone who's not an activist? If someone has a really messy house and dirty kids could child neglect be surmised, and what will be done with such reports? Do you think any of those one-in-twenty-four Americans who volunteer might have some racial bias concerning people of Arabic descent? Might some even be Zionists? And, Lordy, what about the folks who buy the spy software being pushed in the pop ups that appear every twenty minutes? The ones who really want to know about their neighbors? What do you think will happen to the accused? Would being reported by a citizen spy be considered probable cause to justify a more in depth poking around? Innocent until proven guilty, we assume; yet an accusation is always more potent than a retraction. Would you hire a baby sitter who'd been accused of molestation, even if the courts had been unable to make the charge stick? Would you want a suspected terrorist teaching your kids? And what if the accused is a friend? Back in the McCarthy era trucking with Communists was serious business. You didn't actually have to be one to have a valid reason to feel threatened. We have people starting fires so they can put them out and become heroes. We have people killing their kids and making up tall tales about abductions. There was a situation in Florida a few years back where condo commandoes brought an action against a woman because her little dog had an eating disorder and got so fat he overshot the weight limit, which was intended to keep out large-breed dogs. Do you think any of the one-in-twenty-four might have such a mentality? Ya think any of them might be troublemakers or maybe just paranoid? I'm sure nobody would violate the authority of the position to take retribution on someone. Or would they? Look around your office and pick out the person most likely to volunteer. How do you feel about that? For me this all feels like science fiction, but for my friend Suzanne, who was born in Germany at the end of WW II, it's like being thrust into a nightmare of the past. That Americans in general are not horrified by such a proposal horrifies me. If you have time and haven't seen it, rent The Inner Circle. It's a movie about Stalin's projectionist, and it shows in chilling detail the process of rationalization people went through when their neighbors were hauled off by the secret police. Not that I'm saying that's where we are, but if we allow ourselves to get there, it will be too late. I'm not sure anyone expects to be there, and yet, throughout history, so many have been. |
Let me know what you think. |
If you want to consider the overall situation a little more, click here for my essay on Security Vs. Freedom. I wrote it in reponse to a contest sponsored by Shell and the Economist, but when I was done, I figured it really wasn't what they wanted to hear. |
