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Editorial See other Editorial Articles Title: A New Private-Public Partnership: The Citizen Police State While the threats to our liberties from our own government may be great, many don't realize that the greatest threats to our freedoms may be soon coming from our own neighbors and friends. While reporting neighbors to city officials for unsightly lawns and shoddy house maintenance has become accepted and common place, the precedent is dangerous. In the great dystopia novel, 1984, George Orwell describes a police state regime which uses friends, neighbors, and even children to spy and report to "Big Brother" about their neighbor's movements and 'suspicious' activities. This citizen spy network terrorizes the populace of 1984 to keep in line with the established order. It seems that lately the governments of the west have taken a cue from George Orwell and are beginning to encourage more active citizen spying. The reasons for this shift are likely many. One reason may be that it makes government seem less culpable while at the same time greatly increasing their effective spying network. Unfortunately, the resultant loss of freedom will be a lot worse than any illusion of security, especially if citizens come to think that reporting fellow citizens is an admirable thing. In Britain over the past few years, the police have encouraged citizens to report any suspicious behavior using their "instinct" as a guide. (1) In addition, many citizens and tourists have been forced to erase images and photographs because of the supposed risk of terrorism. (2) This has included innocent pictures of Britain's famous "double-decker" buses. Recently, it was announced by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, that the government is grooming a 60,000 civilian spy force. (3) She says: "We're clear that if we're going to address the threat from terrorism, we need to do that alongside the 60,000 people that we're now training up to respond to a terrorist threat, in everywhere from our shopping centers to our hotels. We need to do it alongside the 3,000 police officers, now working on counter-terror, out and about doing that, and we need to do it with international partners." The latest police initiative is even more diabolical. The campaign is called 'Too Much Bling? Give Us a Ring'. (4) It is an effort by the Gloucestershire police to crack down on 'organized crime' by encouraging people to report their neighbors who appear to be making too much money and wearing too much 'bling'. Gloucestershire's Chief constable Dr Timothy Brain said: "In the current time of financial uncertainty, those who live a lavish lifestyle with no discernable, legitimate income become even more apparent. By flaunting their ill-gotten gains, criminals signal contempt for everyone who works hard, and act as very poor role models for the younger members of society." While these examples seem egregious by American standards, we are not that far behind. President Bush gave us the Patriot Act and President Obama has personally outlined a plan for a civilian police force. (5) He said: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Sounds strikingly similar to Jacqui Smith's comments in Britain, doesn't it? Recently, it was made public that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had labeled military veterans and people that are against abortion, against excessive taxation, and support the 2nd amendment as extremists in need of being monitored. In addition, a new bill before congress will give the head of the DHS the power to remove the 2nd amendment rights of any individual that is 'appropriately suspected' of potentially using a firearm to commit an act of terrorism. The bill, H.R. 2159, sponsored by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is called the 'Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009'. (6) This list of threats to our freedoms is endless and I could go on and on. Unfortunately, what is even more chilling is that our government is attempting to form a new public-private partnership by enlisting private individuals to do their dirty work. The only way we can respond is to become active in defeating bills such as the one above and to personally resist the temptation to report people that don't agree with us or don't mow their yards as often as we do. To the contrary, we should celebrate our ability to dissent as a hallmark of the American Revolution.
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#6. To: christine, redpanther (#0)
diabolical is the right word
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