Photography & Imagery
Search
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Portraits of Flowers
    • Portraits of Houses
    • Portraits of people
    • Portraits of Cats
  • Contact
  • About me
  • Blog - The soap bubbles vendor
  • Free services

Security...

8/6/2012

4 Comments

 
Picture

“Nineteen Eighty-Four”, the famous novel by George Orwell, is a distressing, troubling and very interesting example of science–fiction which nowadays can be read as a metaphor of a certain evolution of our modern society.
When it was written, in 1949, it would have been difficult to imagine that 60 years later many details of the plot would have become in a way real, even though, luckily, not the most important elements and Orwell, probably would have not imagined that his tragic “Big Brother” would have inspired a very kitsch format for a TV reality
show.
In our time, which is often accused of excess of individualism, we have become used to many things, which are in conflict with the principle of individualism, but one of human features is really being flexible and adapting itself to all what happens gradually until considering it completely normal, while it would not have been the same if the change had been sudden.

Picture
Security video cameras have become a normal and accepted
presence in our towns, we nearly don’t notice them anymore and, since we don’t think of them, they don’t affect our daily life.
But if we take a little time to think over, maybe a creepy feeling  of
discomfort  can be perceived  when we oblige ourselves to realize that during our daily life we are filmed several times and theoretically nearly all what we banally do in the streets  is recorded, even though for a short time.
It’s difficult to have a precise idea, since there is not any need of special permission for installing security cameras, but it seems that in Great Brittany there are more than four millions of them, one for 14 inhabitants and Italy is at the second place  for the number of security cameras  in Europe, with one for 35 inhabitants.
I know, we might reply that it’s not a problem at all, because we have nothing to hide if we behave legally and properly and then all the recorded images are deleted usually after 24 hours and so on and this way we have a higher level of protection against crime and so on, so on. It’s all absolutely right.
Then if people are asked if they prefer either freedom or security, they might answer that freedom is more important theoretically, but security is fundamental in daily life.

It comes to my mind one of my favourite quotes of Bertolt Brecht from his “Life of Galileo”:
Andrea: Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero.
Galileo: No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.
And paraphrasing it I feel like saying:
“Unhappy is the land that needs security cameras to feel safe.”

4 Comments
Bill
9/6/2012 03:41:08 am

All I can say, Marisa, is that I think you are totally right. It's a sad indictment on society that our political masters deem it necessary to constantly watch us, and sadly there is the lunatic fringe who, by their actions, justify the need for cameras.

It seems to me it is all part of the increasing desire by the "authorities", whoever they are, to feel the need to watch us and as a result exercise more control over us using "National Security" as their excuse. Knowledge is power and if "they" know what we are doing, they have increasing power and control over us.

George Orwell's other book - Animal Farm - is a wonderful (and quite frightening) description of the way politicians today exercise more and more control over us under the pretext that they know best what is good for us. It's rather creepy.

Reply
Barry
10/6/2012 08:50:11 am

They are called safety cameras but are in reality "speed cameras". The problem is to drive at the speed limit distracts you from driving and it is easyier to crash. The real motive behind these cameras is addition revenue. Its another example of technology gone mad.

Reply
Door closer repair Avondale link
26/7/2018 03:50:34 pm

Are you insecure about your home's safety due to the bad locking system of all the doors at your place? Well, you can call a reputed locksmith and get rid of this insecurity forever as they would repair all the defected locks and would provide new and reliable locking systems.

Reply
locksmith perth link
12/7/2019 07:22:07 am

All workmanship and products are guaranteed and we pride ourselves on offering outstanding value for money,

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Marisa Livet is the author of this totally unnecessary journal and takes the full responsibility for the nonsense

    Archives

    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed


    meteo | centrale
    Nyon

Your might visit my photo-galleries on 

 PBASE

Picture
You might get information on the novels 
I  wrote and I'm writing
Picture

©2022 Marisa Livet