Turbulence
A simple thunderstorm over Oklahoma I spotted out the window on a flyover to California in 2019, looks positively apocalyptic when lit up by the setting sun. Love the window seat and I'm sure I annoy the other passengers around me by frequently opening my window blind to check out the landscape.
I can't help but draw an analogy with the current climate of instability in the US. It seems clear to many (myself included) that much needs to change to create a more equal and just society. As with changing weather, that change can often seem abrupt and dramatic, sometimes even violent, when the differentials are too extreme. It is scary to watch. But it is also difficult to explain the status quo to my children. But once the storm has passed, I am hopeful that meaningful change will take place, and the air may be cleaner and more peaceful than ever before.
Frighteningly, it may even become more difficult to voice one's opinion and change the status quo, as the tools the state can bring to bear now to suppress instability can have serious repercussions on even the most innocent and well-meaning. It's not the sixties any more. Without trying to be overly ominous or conspiratorial, we have to keep a very careful watch on the use of digital recording, autonomous surveillance and facial recognition for the purposes of identifying and harassing or even charging non-violent protestors.
These are effectively weapons of mass destruction against democracy, as just showing up to a peaceful protest could result in serious economic consequences. If that threat is realized, people will become fearful of speaking out. The first amendment is *essential* to a functioning democracy. I urge you to research and consider how your local, state and federal governments employ facial recognition to potentially interfere with the ability to express yourself. I do not know whether any agency of government in the US is misusing these tools right now, and I'm not claiming they do. But they have certainly been used to suppress free speech in other countries, and the potential is certainly there unless we as a society remain hyper vigilant, and this is true regardless of which political party is in power.
Stay safe, but speak up for your rights as well as those of the many whose rights and freedoms are more fragile.
Turbulence
A simple thunderstorm over Oklahoma I spotted out the window on a flyover to California in 2019, looks positively apocalyptic when lit up by the setting sun. Love the window seat and I'm sure I annoy the other passengers around me by frequently opening my window blind to check out the landscape.
I can't help but draw an analogy with the current climate of instability in the US. It seems clear to many (myself included) that much needs to change to create a more equal and just society. As with changing weather, that change can often seem abrupt and dramatic, sometimes even violent, when the differentials are too extreme. It is scary to watch. But it is also difficult to explain the status quo to my children. But once the storm has passed, I am hopeful that meaningful change will take place, and the air may be cleaner and more peaceful than ever before.
Frighteningly, it may even become more difficult to voice one's opinion and change the status quo, as the tools the state can bring to bear now to suppress instability can have serious repercussions on even the most innocent and well-meaning. It's not the sixties any more. Without trying to be overly ominous or conspiratorial, we have to keep a very careful watch on the use of digital recording, autonomous surveillance and facial recognition for the purposes of identifying and harassing or even charging non-violent protestors.
These are effectively weapons of mass destruction against democracy, as just showing up to a peaceful protest could result in serious economic consequences. If that threat is realized, people will become fearful of speaking out. The first amendment is *essential* to a functioning democracy. I urge you to research and consider how your local, state and federal governments employ facial recognition to potentially interfere with the ability to express yourself. I do not know whether any agency of government in the US is misusing these tools right now, and I'm not claiming they do. But they have certainly been used to suppress free speech in other countries, and the potential is certainly there unless we as a society remain hyper vigilant, and this is true regardless of which political party is in power.
Stay safe, but speak up for your rights as well as those of the many whose rights and freedoms are more fragile.