Dystopian Lit Blog 3

Is it ever necessary to give up your civil rights for the greater good? Find an article on a current event and discuss the issue in terms of your opinion on civil rights.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/07/balancing-act-national-security-and-civil-liberties-in-post-911-era/

Quotes from article:

Most recently, in 2010, 47% said they were more concerned that government policies “have not gone far enough to adequately protect the country,” while 32% said they were more concerned that “they have gone too far in restricting the average person’s civil liberties.”

In the 9/11 anniversary survey, just 29% favored “the U.S. government monitoring personal telephone calls and emails” in order to curb terrorism.

Giving up civil rights is something no one really wants to do, and as american citizens our expectation of our rights and expectations of privacy are higher than in almost every country. I am no more fond of the idea that the government records my phone conversations or reads my text messages anymore than anyone else, but i do recognize that as an american our expectation of privacy is significantly higher than what is considered reasonable in other countries. Great Britain, specifically London, has put up an extensive network of cameras throughout the city, and these cameras are monitored at all times. It is impossible to cross the city without being recorded by the cameras. They even have tv show contests in which people try go from one place to another without being detected and the person who is recognizable on the fewest number of cameras wins prize money. To us in America this sounds absurd and like a gross invasion of privacy, but in Britain the people will even say that they like it as it helps protect them. Because the cameras are monitored when people who appears to be engaging in suspicious activity are spotted on camera the police are notified and can arrive at the scene within minutes. This has cut down on the number of violent crimes. the loss of civil liberties such as privacy in favor of security is a very complicated moral issue and it is one that I don’t feel qualified to make an educated decision on just yet.

The info about the cameras in London came from an article we read and discussed in Constitutional Law, but it is in my con law binder which I did not bring to school and is a few years old from the newspaper so I couldn’t find it to link it.