cdbeck
Posts: 1374
Joined: 8/16/2005 From: Indiana Status: offline
|
I agree with JD, giving the government more power over tracking and surveillance is almost always a bad idea. Why? Because those that we place above us to protect us are as human as the criminals and the terrorists, and with a strong belief in a certain ideology, can do terrible things that they consider "right." We all fall prey to the "crazy megalomaniac" view of history: that people like Hitler, Napoleon, or Robespierre were just "crazy guys in it to give themselves more power" and not "human beings who honestly believed that their actions would make a better, safer, pleasant, more free/ordered/efficient/economically viable world." Repressive regimes in history have ALWAYS started from populations tacitly approving of repressive policies in exchange for more security from terrorists/foreigners/criminals/traitors and for a social outcry for order, safety, and an end to confusion. Remember, the police are not there to help you out, they are there to keep you following the law - no matter what the law is (ironically this idea came from Judge Dredd's post ). And not to bring up religion or be overly pedantic, but the book of Revelations does NOT discuss microchipping, DNA testing, ID cards, or the like. It does discuss branding a vague number (MAYBE in SOME versions 666, depending on translation and year of authorship, 616) on people's hands or foreheads for commerce. I guess one could make a huge leap and say driver's licenses are required for commerce... unless you pay cash. Many Bible scholars think that Revelations is actually discussing contemporary events... possibly Nero. So... I would be more afraid of Neo-Fascism, Radical Patriotism, or government repression than I would the Anti-Christ.
_____________________________
"Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet!" (Kill them all. God will know his own.) -- Arnaud-Armaury, the Albigensian Crusade
|