Monday, June 04, 2012

Privacy No Longer Exists

A headline caught my eye today.  It would seem the EPA is now using drones to spy on farmers in Iowa and Nebraska.  Though they don't have the authority they are doing so anyway as a cost efficient way of keeping their eye on water quality in regions where cattle are raised.

The poor cattle!  They've been getting a bad rap for years because what exits their bodies is deemed bad for us.  So bad the government has to use drones to keep an eye on their wanderings?  Do drones also test the ground water?  If not there goes your efficiency.

I started wondering about what else they keep an eye on while coming from where ever they come from and returning.  The farmers themselves?  I wonder how many one finger salutes they pick up.

Actually, none of us seem to be free from surveillance.  Cities have cameras mounted on buildings, businesses do too. Stop signs are watched.  Our phones have them. Just ask a politician who has been caught in a compromising situation by a cell phone camera. Our pads and computers have them. My computer has one looking at me though I never use it.  Can it be triggered remotely?  I hope not. I don't photograph well.  We can't go through airports without having our nakedness scanned.  There are high altitude spy planes and satellites that can detect a quarter in your hip pocket.

Police have them on their dashboards and on their uniforms.  You can get pens that have them and place it in a shirt pocket and no one knows the difference.   They're everywhere.  Facebook has come under fire for it's privacy practices.  At least they have some if you're inclined to dig deep enough.  Of course they're betting you won't and you probably don't.

Maybe it's just me, but as long as it's my computer or a friend's cell phone I consider it an annoyance at times, but when the government has free reign with spy in the sky technology I get uneasy.  Not that I have anything to be afraid of other than embarrassing myself, but still.  The thought that I can go out in my yard and have every move recorded without my even knowing it seems an appalling invasion of privacy.  At least it would be if there were such a thing. Privacy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good morning, Mari!

Another though-provoking post, leaving one to ponder if a sense of privacy does really exist anymore.

Unfortunately, our society doesn't have many decent folks like yourself and others who care to be lawful and abiding citizens all the time, thus "Big Brother" feels justified in "being safe than being sorry". Just another sign of the times...giving up our freedoms for security (Didn't one of the Founding Fathers warn against such a notion)?

Oh, well, hope you are fully recovered from that bee sting...enjoy your day.