Not too long ago I overheard a conversation in the waiting room at the doctor's office. An older couple were talking about how everyone had anxiety today. Anxiety here, anxiety there. We're all living in a state of anxiety. It wasn't like that when we were kids. What is going on with this shit?
My first thought was, back when you were kids, admitting to anxiety was not just frowned upon, it was practically forbidden. While there is a lot of truth to that, I've since come up with another theory.
Constant surveillance. When I was a kid, there was a reasonable expectation that, when you left your house, you would not be recorded anywhere. I mean, there were cameras, sure. If you went to the bank or a gas station or a liquor store or any other place that was likely to get robbed, you would undoubtedly see a camera. But outside of those places? To say nothing of the fact that we didn't have cell phones yet, much less cell phones with cameras, so if someone was trying to record images of you, you'd see the giant Camcorder, so not even your fellow citizens could film you unnoticed.
But now cameras are everywhere. Everyone you see could potentially be recording you with cell phones or even with their eye glasses. There are cameras in cars, in door bells, even in your fucking household appliances.
Human beings are social creatures, our modern day behavior notwithstanding. It's important to be accepted by the tribe, and because there are cameras everywhere, a lot of people are trying to be on their best behavior because no one wants to get caught looking bad on camera. Like, that kind of video gets posted to social media, and then that person's life is over. Or, less drastically, someone doing something stupid, like picking your nose and eating the findings. They've been cast out of the tribe.
With stakes that high, why not stay the fuck home? Interact with people? Are you nuts?!
And now the cameras have gotten even worse. They're not just satisfied to steal our images. Now they're reading your license plate. Or they're scanning the data on your car's computer. Your digital footprint is more like a fingerprint. The police can ID you just from a Flock camera scanning your phone, so if a Flock camera busts you speeding, they don't need your face on camera. They know your phone was in the vehicle, so you were undoubtedly driving. Good luck getting out of that ticket.
I believe this is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights. The Flock cameras aren't police cameras. It's the corporation, Flock, that is in charge of them. But instead of getting a warrant to go after you, the cops can just submit a request from Flock, and they have no reason not to give them that info. In fact, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT.
But we live in a society where corporations and law enforcement are indistinguishable; therefore, it's a violation of the Bill of Rights.
"You can't fight City Hall," you say.
But you can. I have an excellent idea to get rid of the surveillance state we currently live in, and it wouldn't break a single law. Guaranteed to work! But that's for another day. Stay tuned.
Follow me for more tips on how to kill anxiety and rescue our personal freedom! I'll teach you my easy-peasy two-birds-one-stone solution!
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