Surveillance

When discussing the topic of surveillance, the immediate question that comes to my mind is; How much freedom am I willing to sacrifice for safety? I feel like that threshold is different for everyone. Some may be completely fine with living in a society where they are constantly monitored, while others may be repulsed and infuriated by the idea. Whether you are the former or the later, the unfortunate fact is that the world we live in is one of surveillance. Of course it wasn't always that way, for most of human history the average person went through their lives unmonitored. However, with the advent of technology and the rise of crime and terrorism has made our world into something else. Everywhere we go, there are security cameras, whenever we go online search engines are keeping track of what we are doing, and in many cases whenever we make a phone call, there is always the possibility that someone is listening. However, in my opinion, the only people that should be concerned by this, are those that are doing things that they shouldn't be. I doubt the government really cares much about me, given the fact that I've never gotten involved in illegal activity, or made the slightest mention of it. Those that are under scrutiny are those that should be. On the other hand, many truly believe that the government is keeping close tabs on them, whether they are doing something illegal or not. They live in a state of constant paranoia, a state where they think their every move is being recorded. I couldn't imagine going through my life with that mentality, simply because for the most part it just isn't true. The government, or whatever organization one might think would be monitoring me, would have found nothing of interest and would have moved on to individuals and groups that actually pose a threat to society. Do I think that I've never been under surveillance? Of course not. I think at some point in our lives our activity is being monitored but I think that once we are seen for what we are, individuals that pose no threat to anyone else, we are simply scratched off the list. Obviously I can't say this with absolute certainty, but it just seems most logical to me. In our post 9/11 society, we have seen a massive vamping up of surveillance, particularly with the department of homeland security. The idea that we are being watched has come into center stage these days, but again, I think the only people who should be worried about this are the ones that have sinister plans they want to hide. Do I think the world would be better with less surveillance? Probably, but there's really not much I can do to help it or change the situation in any way. In short, while surveillance is particularly prominent in this time in history, I don't think it's something to be particularly concerned about. Some would say that we're living in a 1984-esque dystopian world, but such ideas, while interesting in literature, aren't something that can be accurately applied to the real world, so individuals who think that is really the case should loosen up their tinfoil hats.