We are living in a panopticon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon

It's been several years, highschool I think, since I remember this term. A quote from the ACLU (not a fan due to their 2A stance) at the Senate hearings on NSA surveillance brought it all back to me:

"People who know the government could be monitoring their every move, their every phone call, or their every Google search will comport themselves differently. They'll hesitate before visiting controversial websites, they'll hesitate before joining controversial advocacy groups, and they'll hesitate before exercising rights that the Constitution guarantees. Now individually those hesitations may appear to be inconsequential, but the accumulation of those hesitations over time will alter the nature of our democracy, it will alter citizens relations to one another, and it will alter their relationship to their government. That much is clear from a history of many other countries." - Jameel Jaffer

This also applies to firearms laws. I have observed for a long time that when they take an inch, we take a mile due to fear of prosecution. Reality is, some laws are hardly enforced or have light sentences, but we make up monsters. Such as policing ourselves. Such as banning magazine extensions from sale, when the law does not prohibit sale of magazine extensions.

Just an observation.

Nice quote. I will admit that I have felt that hesitation from time to time. Never thought through the bigger picture. That gives me something to chew on today.

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Originally Posted by dan512

Nice quote. I will admit that I have felt that hesitation from time to time. Never thought through the bigger picture. That gives me something to chew on today.

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Thanks. I feel like the impact will be far reaching and terrible...like a person will not try and learn something because they are being watched. Or wont make stew to take on their camping trip because they don't want to buy a pressure cooker and a backpack from Amazon.

I've heard it said that perception, or appearance, is reality. I fear you are correct, and that this will cause a wholesale change in our country, even if it is not immediately visible. I think the media ("propaganda machine") makes use of this, and that is why so many people are so (I'll use a nice word here) "misinformed". Top that off with so many people believing that what they see on TV news or in the newspaper is true, without bothering to verify what they're seeing and with the public indoctrination system encouraging them to not be able to think for themselves and you have a nation of subjects, who will base their actions on what they see and hear.

I was about to order something yesterday that is perfectly legal, but could have an appearance to some that isn't, and I changed my mind for this exact reason. I may re-think that decision.

This seems like a close cousin to politically-correct speech control: certain words, ideas, and concepts are verboten because someone might get their feelings hurt, so people are pressured by society to alter what they might otherwise have said.

I think it's a little more insideous than that. Public speech is one thing. I learned long ago that the shit I say when I am alone is not what I should say in a crowd. But here we are talking about what someone does when they are alone. We are talking about people being afraid to check out a book from the library or read an Internet site for fear that those who are watching may paint the wrong picture. I do think that eventually this fear has to impact our nation. Subtlety sure, but long term who knows...

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Originally Posted by dan512

But here we are talking about what someone does when they are alone.

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That's precisely the issue though: you aren't 'alone' now when engaged in activities that entailed the perception of privacy in the past.

I'm personally more concerned the overlooking of individual rights is slow developing into some form of nation Total Institution program. The NSA will literally be the "man in the bandstand" in a Carlislian version of a horrific Orwellian nightmare.

We must not live in fear of the government and we must continue to live our lives freely as before. It is OK to be polite and still not be PC.

Power perceived is power achieved. We must keep our power, not surrender it out of fear.