Exceedingly few comprehend the magnitude of the identifier. An identifier is any apparatus that can classify you, your property or your actions. We increasingly see new cameras, microphones and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking devices appearing all of the time, so what’s the big deal? Who cares if the government knows where you are? As long as you are obeying the law, you have nothing to worry about right?
Wrong. In reality, a law is tolerated by people as long as it can be enforced. Thus, no matter how oppressive a law may be, if it can be enforced, people will accept it. There are many ridiculous laws in the books. In Philadelphia, for example, it is illegal to spit on a sidewalk. There is no effective way to enforce this, and accordingly, most people think it is an unreasonable law. And it is.
Case in point, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, a private mafia unleashed upon Philadelphia’s streets to enforce aggressive “parking laws.” What could not be enforced in the past is now enforceable due to the use of high-tech identification devices. An identifier literally roams the streets 24/7, scanning license plates and looking for “violators” to boot. The public is upset and yet simultaneously rationalizes these mafia tactics by saying, “It’s the law.”
No, you blindfolded donkey. It is the enforceable law. And what they can enforce you will accept, no matter how ludicrous the law.
Where is this going? Remember “1984”? How could you forget? Remember how the people walked around like zombies in neat little lines, in fear of breaking the law, lest they be taken away? You and I wondered and gawked at how people could be so utterly afraid, orderly, obedient and controlled.
Few if any of us realize just how easy it is to take control of a population, especially when most of that population is in a media-induced vegetative state. Even fewer actually see the slow assimilation of total control into our society.
It starts with the recognition of minor offenses, which leads to the recognition of petty offenses and then even more petty offenses. Soon, it becomes an offense to spit on the sidewalk, j-walk, smile, look unpatriotic, not do your morning exercises, etc. Impossible you say? After all, how could the public condone enforcement of such trivial laws?
Simple. If a camera and microphone can recognize your actions and words at all times, what patriotic sheep would object to condoning “lawbreaking”? No matter how you think about it, the law in reality just appears on the scene. Sadly, you have no say in what laws are passed. When have you ever had a say in tax amounts, speeding laws, alimony laws, civil laws or divorce laws? You haven’t. The “man” makes the nation’s laws.
This is no one’s fault but our own. Out of the political laziness which we have been conditioned to practice, we choose – or do we? – to remain silent in the law-making process. And when the new laws appear, the herd always says the same thing: “Follow the law.”
You will fall obediently in line to all fined offenses no matter how ridiculous they are if you can be identified. That is how the people in “1984” became who they were. What about due process, you ask? Well, let’s look back at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. If you get a ticket, there is no option to contest, no judge or magistrate to see. You pay your ticket like the good blade of grass that you are, or your car gets towed. Period.
This is because if a camera catches your action, it presumes automatic guilt. There is no point of due process if you are “caught in the act.” Thus the Lemmings (Tundra rodents, if you didn’t know) accept it, all the while unquestioning and helpless. And that is the whole point of RFID chips and other identification devices. Being guilty before innocent means one thing and one thing only: no freedom. Soon, recognizers will be scanning you instead of your license plate. Scanning you to make sure your blue overalls are clean and tidy.
If a cow suddenly realizes it is being taken to the slaughterhouse, it can do nothing. Why? It is surrounded by hundreds of other mindless cattle. They keep the enlightened cow trapped and contained and doom it to their fate. It is nothing short of mine and your responsibility to wake people up. Get them politically involved and informed. Otherwise, the critical mass will doom us all to the same freedom-less fate.
Julio Cespedes is a junior majoring in biological engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].