Will China Show the Department of Homeland Security the Way?

We live in a brave new world. In Keith Bradsher's recent article, Big Brother gets high-tech help in Shenzhen, we learn that the Chinese Government is in the process of providing its citizens with identity cards. These identity cards possess computer chips that will allow authorities to instantly know a citizen's name, address, work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status, and landlord's phone number. Moreover, the Chinese police will install surveillance cameras along streets. Such cameras guided by sophisticated computer software will recognize automatically the face of known suspects as well as detect unusual activity.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief and thank the United States Constitution for the joy of life in a free country, you might see what David Kravets says in California Police Camera Surveillance Increasing. Backed with millions in Homeland Security Dollars (tell me again how the Republican Party favors small government), we learn that California law enforcement authorities will expand video surveillance camera spying throughout the state's public areas. Specifically, courtesy of our federal government largess, at least 37 California agencies and cities have (or will have a video) surveillance program.

Folks, the number of video surveillance will never contract as long as mainstream "big government" Republicans and Democrats fill our political offices. However, this is fine, because as law abiding US citizens, we have nothing to hide. Am I right?

So let us all get used to being on camera. Let us all get used to the fact that within ten years, the United States Government will train cameras (directed by computer software guided programs) in every public thoroughfare in order to record our every public moment. Let us get used to guarding our public lives.

Am I paranoid or just realistic? After all, if you oppose terrorism and hate crime, how do you argue against such programs? In short, backed by the unassailable argument that we must act to prevent terrorism and increasing crime, we will welcome our government's actions as camera by camera, microphone by microphone, surveillance increases and privacy decreases.

Whether it's "wire-tapping, closed-circuit cameras, or data mining," because "these tools can help stop violence and crime," we will see them used and installed everywhere. Nevertheless, this is okay, because you and I are doing nothing wrong. Unless, what we read in Maybe surveillance is bad, after all by John Borland is true.

He quotes Philosopher Sandro Gaycken, a PhD student at Germany's Institut für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung in Bielefeld, for the proposition that "there are well-established psychological consequences to being watched, observed consistently in studies. People change, tailoring their behavior to fit what they believe the observer wants (or in some cases actively rebelling against those wishes)."

We must ask ourselves as a society, is this where we want to go? If we do not examine this question, then by default, we will become a society that tapes, films, and monitors itself continuously.