I'm concerned with a disturbing mass acceptance of mass surveillance.
We hear various themes that reveal quite a bit about our psychology of fear or acquiescence when it comes to this important issue.
Some simply say "Privacy is dead. Get used to it."
This point of view is based on a not altogether inaccurate understanding of today's computers and Internet technology.
However, we don't know much. Many discoveries are yet to be made; technologies yet to be developed.
Seems unreasonable that anyone could make such a total, final, sweeping statement "Privacy is dead." Reminds me of another old sweeping statement, "God is dead." I think many folks, myself included, would disagree with such a simplistic sweeping statement.
I suspect a significant proportion of the world's most important communication has already gone off the Internet. This phenomenon may accelerate. This is why in "The STARLING Connection," the 2045 State doesn't rely exclusively on mass surveillance of SUPERNET, but uses Drones extensively, to track every physical movement...
Perhaps better encryption or new discoveries could mean the jury may still be out on the old statement "Privacy is dead"?
Who knows what kinds of future communication strategies and devices could be developed, perhaps based on quantum entanglement or mathematics we already have?
In thinking of every possible way the 2045 State in "The STARLING Connection," could clamp down on humanity, I realized Reality may make watching everything under the sun impossible.
I do not believe "Privacy is dead." I believe Hope is Alive.
To that end, I feel a better question than "Is privacy dead?" is "Should privacy be dead?" The former is a matter of conventional wisdom. The latter is a matter of consciousness, discovery and direction / application of what is possible through consciousness. A better question is "Who decides whether or not we will have privacy?"
Another old-hat we hear when it comes to privacy is "I have nothing to hide."
This belief seems prevalent among members of a protected or entrenched class (from whom this statement often arises) who claim (and often believe themselves) they are somehow the only "good" or "law abiding citizens" of the country, and as such "always follow the law all the time." In their experience, the "law" apparently works for them, so of course, that means the "system works" and is "good" and "works equally for everybody" as long as we continue to "put our faith and belief into the system," "everything will be OK..."
But is the "system" really all its cracked up to be? Or does the "system" really just amount to an artificial class / caste / slave structure and systemic violence? Should we put all of our faith into any "system," State or Construct?
Is this statement "I have nothing to hide" true or not? It can only either be true or a lie. If it is true, then why not walk around naked? Or why not tell everyone you hide your house key under the doormat? Such a statement as "I have nothing to hide" seems simultaneously ludicrous and dangerous.
The fact that so many people today feel so compelled to consistently announce "I have nothing hide" means this statement cannot be true. "I have nothing to hide" betrays what the person actually knows: That he is being watched constantly; and because he is being watched, and all his data is being collected from birth to death, he now has to protest too much "I have nothing to hide" to placate both himself and the powerful people watching him. Somewhere deep down he knows the power to watch is the power to destroy.
With me so far? As you will see in the continuation of the "The STARLING Connection," the beginning of which I'm sharing here in respect for and solidarity with those who are protesting regarding #ICantBreathe, #Ferguson, etc., whether or not one has "something to hide" is irrelevant.
The real questions involve:
Why should anyone in America ever, ever, EVER be saying "I have nothing to hide?" Isn't that precisely what citizens HAD TO SAY in the Soviet Union? Or 1930s Germany?
Isn't it time for all of us to admit the Truth, that there something dreadfully wrong when so many Americans are going around saying "I have nothing to hide" in what is supposed to be The Land of the Free?
"The STARLING Connection" indicates that to live in a human world, meaning a world of human rights, every human being SHOULD have something to hide or they're simply not free.
Every human being should have a basic human right to choose privacy (with that fundamental right of choice not stolen from us) because we should all be concerned with:
WHO OWNS INFORMATION?
WHAT IS BEING DONE WITH OUR INFORMATION?
AND HOW MUCH POWER WILL THAT INFORMATION GIVE SOMEONE ELSE OVER OUR LIVES?
The Truth and implications of these questions go much deeper than many are willing to admit...
And on that note, enjoy more of The STARLING Connection:
We hear various themes that reveal quite a bit about our psychology of fear or acquiescence when it comes to this important issue.
Some simply say "Privacy is dead. Get used to it."
This point of view is based on a not altogether inaccurate understanding of today's computers and Internet technology.
However, we don't know much. Many discoveries are yet to be made; technologies yet to be developed.
Seems unreasonable that anyone could make such a total, final, sweeping statement "Privacy is dead." Reminds me of another old sweeping statement, "God is dead." I think many folks, myself included, would disagree with such a simplistic sweeping statement.
I suspect a significant proportion of the world's most important communication has already gone off the Internet. This phenomenon may accelerate. This is why in "The STARLING Connection," the 2045 State doesn't rely exclusively on mass surveillance of SUPERNET, but uses Drones extensively, to track every physical movement...
Perhaps better encryption or new discoveries could mean the jury may still be out on the old statement "Privacy is dead"?
Who knows what kinds of future communication strategies and devices could be developed, perhaps based on quantum entanglement or mathematics we already have?
In thinking of every possible way the 2045 State in "The STARLING Connection," could clamp down on humanity, I realized Reality may make watching everything under the sun impossible.
I do not believe "Privacy is dead." I believe Hope is Alive.
To that end, I feel a better question than "Is privacy dead?" is "Should privacy be dead?" The former is a matter of conventional wisdom. The latter is a matter of consciousness, discovery and direction / application of what is possible through consciousness. A better question is "Who decides whether or not we will have privacy?"
Another old-hat we hear when it comes to privacy is "I have nothing to hide."
This belief seems prevalent among members of a protected or entrenched class (from whom this statement often arises) who claim (and often believe themselves) they are somehow the only "good" or "law abiding citizens" of the country, and as such "always follow the law all the time." In their experience, the "law" apparently works for them, so of course, that means the "system works" and is "good" and "works equally for everybody" as long as we continue to "put our faith and belief into the system," "everything will be OK..."
But is the "system" really all its cracked up to be? Or does the "system" really just amount to an artificial class / caste / slave structure and systemic violence? Should we put all of our faith into any "system," State or Construct?
Is this statement "I have nothing to hide" true or not? It can only either be true or a lie. If it is true, then why not walk around naked? Or why not tell everyone you hide your house key under the doormat? Such a statement as "I have nothing to hide" seems simultaneously ludicrous and dangerous.
The fact that so many people today feel so compelled to consistently announce "I have nothing hide" means this statement cannot be true. "I have nothing to hide" betrays what the person actually knows: That he is being watched constantly; and because he is being watched, and all his data is being collected from birth to death, he now has to protest too much "I have nothing to hide" to placate both himself and the powerful people watching him. Somewhere deep down he knows the power to watch is the power to destroy.
With me so far? As you will see in the continuation of the "The STARLING Connection," the beginning of which I'm sharing here in respect for and solidarity with those who are protesting regarding #ICantBreathe, #Ferguson, etc., whether or not one has "something to hide" is irrelevant.
The real questions involve:
Why should anyone in America ever, ever, EVER be saying "I have nothing to hide?" Isn't that precisely what citizens HAD TO SAY in the Soviet Union? Or 1930s Germany?
Isn't it time for all of us to admit the Truth, that there something dreadfully wrong when so many Americans are going around saying "I have nothing to hide" in what is supposed to be The Land of the Free?
"The STARLING Connection" indicates that to live in a human world, meaning a world of human rights, every human being SHOULD have something to hide or they're simply not free.
Every human being should have a basic human right to choose privacy (with that fundamental right of choice not stolen from us) because we should all be concerned with:
WHO OWNS INFORMATION?
WHAT IS BEING DONE WITH OUR INFORMATION?
AND HOW MUCH POWER WILL THAT INFORMATION GIVE SOMEONE ELSE OVER OUR LIVES?
The Truth and implications of these questions go much deeper than many are willing to admit...
And on that note, enjoy more of The STARLING Connection:
To most people, The Drones are almost like the streets and buildings, like the school, like the Reconditioning Centers, like TEMPLE. Just a part of what you see every day. You know, “normal” stuff. So if you think about The Drones at all, then you’re “not normal” anymore, and that’s the worst thing you can be in Briarwood or Capital City or anywhere really.
Even though there are no human pilots flying The Drones, their computer systems can see everything that’s happening on the ground and everything everyone does on SUPERNET; you know, all at the same time. There’s no difference between the computers The Drones use, TEMPLE and the SUPERNET. It’s all the same system.
Yeah, everything’s completely connected. It’s an “all-seeing eye.” For most of us, there’s almost nothing we can do that The Drones can’t see.
Let’s just say you fail to work your 18-hour quota one day, or your family doesn’t buy their quota of brand new stuff at Big Buy—you know, like everyone’s required to do by the end of the day.
The Drones can see what you failed to do, thanks to your Radio Frequency Identification System (R.F.I.D.) body microchip and the zillions of hidden security cameras on the ground. And they can see via SUPERNET where you actually went to and who you talked to.
The Drones know exactly what you were up to during the time you were supposed to be buying stuff and working for your Employer.
SHOULDN'T we all have something to hide to be truly free?
Read The STARLING Connection
Read The STARLING Connection
