I’ve seen a few things in the news lately that have me a little disturbed.
I don’t get the arrests of people for flash-mobs. As the headlines have read, people have been arrested for organizing flash-mobs. To be fair, I did not thoroughly investigate these stories. But on the surface I don’t get it. Right to assembly?
Arresting protesters outside of BART. This I’ve read a little more about and it still disturbs me. I understand BART not allowing demonstrations on the actual platforms do to safety issues. What I don’t understand is the arrests that took place outside the stations. There wasn’t enough information in what I read that makes me comfortable with these arrests being anything more than harassment. Right to assembly?
Tiananmen Square anyone?
And just this week I read this article on PCWorld.com about how TSA may end up tracking your every move around town and country. See the article here: PC World Article . It mentions the growing Police State that we in the US live in. As with so many things the TSA justifies itself with the “war on terrorism”.
One of the dangers I remember discussing with a select few people when the Patriot Act was fist passed and with each subsequent renewal and addition to it, was that our willingness to give up our liberties in the name of so called ‘terrorism’ or ‘in the interest of national security’ is scary. We discussed that if you give them an inch they will take a mile. For every little bit we agree to give up it makes it that much easier for the people in power to take a little more. Until one day you wake up and find your world much like modern day China which we are so quick to criticize or maybe the world of George Orwell’s “1984”.
I had already been prompted to want to re-read “1984” because of something in another book I am reading and things like this make me think many more of us should be re-reading “1984” and if you haven’t read it perhaps it’s time you acquaint yourself with it. I picked up my copy over the weekend. I’d say it’s about time I get to reading it. How about you?