Hands up if you've seen 2 girls 1 cup... Saddam Hussein's execution footage... the SuBo audition? If you haven't got your hand up for at least one of those, I suggest you could better use your time online- where have you been. The honest amongst you, put your hands down now, you've done nothing to be proud of. All three of those videos have one thing in common- they can't ever be unseen. They are the kind of footage that once witnessed, have a special place burnt onto the minds of all that have viewed- a kind of permanent trace.
In a world where we can't forget, we find a similarity with our machines. That clip you watched of a cat chasing a stick is lurking there somewhere, poised to reveal your secret fetish to anyone in government that happens to want to discover it. So too is that 'accidentally opened' German porno from when you were nineteen.
It may not worry you that your information is available through international governments monitoring and sharing it amongst themselves. You have nothing to hide, right. What if Tesco just cut the middle man out and sold the governments your clubcard records- that would be equally innocuous wouldn't it. Innocuous until one day you're denied NHS care due to the amount of fatty food consumed by your family every week. Until the day smokers who've bought fuel and cigs in one transaction are rounded up and fined for lighting up at the wheel.
Both of these extreme examples highlight what could happen with a little bit of harmful information in the wrong hands. Morally, I detest most of the things this government is doing- from their attacks on the poorest right through to their inability to persecute the tax dodgers and fat-cats that put us all in this mess. Unsurprisingly, they're the last people I want on my hard drive, given my mistrust of them. Is that in itself reason enough to be annoyed at their snooping?
As a result of my anger, I haven't, as a 'just in case' measure, attempted to hack their system, bug their lines or trace their calls. No, as a regular member of the public I have to go about my day hoping that they and all the other people I will come into contact with haven't descended to madness and still subscribe to a similar set of morals to my own. Isn't it about time that level of trust we hold in society everyday was reflected by the lucky few with the power to make decisions for us.
Come Friendly Bombs
Come friendly bombs, take a good look around
Would you like me to show you the view from the ground
I can post it to facebook, I can share it on skype
I'm worried you might not have been tracking me right.
Come and browse through my bookshelves, view my history offline
You'll see I'm quite boring for most of the time
Ask permission, ask some questions I'm sure I can help you
Pop in for your answers, I can make us a brew.
Come and check my text messages, read through my phonebook
Run a personal check through the women I've fucked
Cross reference my photos, credit score me it's fine
Find a character witness, check locations with times
Send a drone past, GPS me, even bug my landline
You'll find I've no plans to go out planting mines
But to trust this to you, all that knowledge of me
Seems profound when we live in a world we call free
When you can't as a government write clear reports
When you're hiding the facts and holding secret courts
Leave us be, we're no more dangerous now than before
These are not our shortcomings, don't put them at our door.
1 comments:
It's not just this government - worthless bunch of reptiles that they are. I don't think I would want any government looking at the contents of my hard drive.
Excellent thought-provoking post.
Ash
Post a Comment