An Orwellian World

I once had a pot-bellied pig that use to help my out in the garage.  She would hand me tools as I constructed one failure after another.  You see, I was trying to build a pig-proof way of making dog food available to the dogs but not the pig.  Her plan, I can see it now in hindsight, was to watch as I built the various devices so she could see the weak link.

She always won in the end which makes me think George Orwell's Animal Farm is not all that unlikely.

This brings us to his book 1984.  In this book, Big Brother knows everything.  I found this to be a scary yet unlikely scenario for any future.  At the time I read it, it seemed to be full of holes.

How could any entity track everyone?  They would need computers and such.  DONE

Why would we let them take control of us like that?  Certainly we would be able to see it coming and put a stop to it.

Or would we?

Over the last couple of years, I have been starting to see a scenario where Big Brother may someday become the lesser of two evils.

Terrorism the the problem.

If we truly want to stop all terrorism, then we need to know where everyone is at or what they are doing at all times.  This is probably not an absolute.  For example, maybe someone will invent an "evil detection chip" that we put in everyone's head.  If they get seriously evil, their head explodes or something.  Barring that type of breakthrough, as terrorism increases, so will surveillance as we try to catch the bad guys.  People will be encouraged to turn in their neighbors over smaller and smaller trifles as government lowers the threshold for what is considered subversive.

To be free of fear, we will need to imprison ourselves.

This is not the path I would choose.  In fact, I prefer to not react to terrorism other than to terrorize the terrorists. Bagging deodorant or removing shoes to get on an airplane?  Get real! I am in favor of cruel and unusual punishment when it comes to terrorism.  Let them be afraid.

The problem then becomes, "What is terrorism?"  If someone blows up a bridge, we call it a terrorist act.  Suppose they blow up a gas station.  Suppose they just rob a gas station.  Suppose they jaywalk.  I think it is hard to draw that subjective line and say, "Over there on that side, you are the terrorist."  Who knows, in they eyes of the Taliban, maybe we are the terrorists.

So, no cruel and unusual punishment until the bugs are worked out.

After that...let's get creative.

I really want to be the person that turns the other cheeks.  I actually prefer any alternative to what I am suggesting, so long as it works.  I would encourage a "hire a terrorist" program that would provide job retraining and put hope into lives that have no hope.  Fanatics are created by circumstances.  So let us create more positive circumstances.

Until then, I favor a more medieval solution.  I just hope someone can convince me otherwise.

j