The Internet is a great equalizer, and a great way for communities to get together and share ideas and experiences. And in some countries, that’s seen as a bad thing.
Iran is mounting new clampdowns on Internet expression, including rules that will impose layers of surveillance in the country’s popular Internet cafes, as Tehran’s political establishment comes under increasing strains from economic turmoil and threats of more international sanctions.
The government’s attempts to control the Internet include installing cameras in cybercafes, collecting detailed information about users, and tracking their web histories.
If you’re a US citizen and you’re glad we live in a free country instead of in Iran, you’re probably not thinking about ongoing attempts under the so-called PATRIOT Act, to do the same sort of thing less openly. Some of them we’re catching, which is good. But how many are we missing? That’s a “state secret.”
It isn’t just through the Patriot Act, either, but so many people don’t even want to acknowledge this. The erosion of rights and privacy is keeping Our Freedom™ safe.
I had an ex-coworker who was entirely willing to surrender his constitutional rights, for example – his right of protection from illegal searches and seizures – to safeguard his miserable angry little life.
He was much put off by my refuting his argument – saying that i would rather have my freedoms and have my life at “risk” than feel marginally safer with big brother always watching over my shoulder.
He got scared when i told him i would fight to keep my freedoms, if it ever came to that.
Seems like that day is edging ever closer.
Someday I’m going to make a T-shirt with a picture of the DHS logo surrounded by the words “Maximum security is the name of a prison” or something to that effect. Maybe I’ll wear it to the airport the next time I have to fly somewhere.