Over recent years the British public has seen the growing use of electronic surveilance and a seemingly never ending stream of "advice" from central government and local authorities on how we should live our lives. Today we learn that now, as well as being constantly watched by CCTV cameras installed in our towns, we're now going to hear voices telling us to stop what we're doing if somebody deems our actions to be inappropriate.
Quite honestly, I thought this had all gone too far a while back... but this is just plain wrong.
I remember growing up back in the 1970's when the phrase "nanny state" was regularly used and the main broadcaster was referred to as "aunty beeb". In the 80's much of this fell away as the Thatcher government started to de-nationalise industry and give the British people back the choice of how to live their lives, how to run their businesses and the like. Then came New Labour and Tony Blair. Ok, so there hasn't been the wholesale re-nationalisation of industry that many hardline socialists would have preferred, but over the years since the last Conservative government we've started to see slippage back towards a nanny state, even though it may not be as visible as it was in the 70's it is happening.
Lets start with the more visible signs. Next time you're out shopping, look for the CCTV cameras. Ok, so we're all familiar with the upturned-dalek-heads used many years ago in Boots and it's only right that private companies install security devices on their own property, be it shops, offices or anywhere else. There are, however, cameras out on the shopping streets too. Yes, they're installed in shopping centres which are often privately owned and operated. Look further afield though and you start to see cameras being installed outside of town centres, on the edges of housing estates. In Corby, Northamptonshire, the council have anounced that they will provide 1000 cameras for people to install on their own houses! So, who is monitoring these cameras? What can they see? Are they being pointed into your back garden or through your windows? Who is actually being employed to watch over you?
I would never consider myself to be paranoid... I'm no conspiracy theorist and I'm certainly not looking for "reds under the beds", but I am concerned.
Especially now that speakers are going to be attached to the cameras so that the operators can tell us off then they see us misbehaving. Who are these people and who's giving them the authority to do this?
At the same time I've noticed that the local police helecoptor is getting a lot more time in the air. I did wonder why until I hear a news report about heat-sensing devices being used to locate the cocaine being grown in rented houses by Vietnamese gangs. Ok, so this is a good thing... but how long will it be until they start using the same thermal sensors to determine who's been running their heating or air conditioners for too long and contributing to global warming? This is really no different to the plans being discussed to put sensors on dustbins to monitor what you're throwing away!
We're being told that all of these devices are being used to improve security and make our streets safer and cleaner. In the same way as we're told that speed cameras make our roads safer when in many cases they're actually being used to raise revenue. Petrol stations now have "ANPR" systems in place... Automatic Number Plate Readers to you and me. We're told they're being used to catch people who drive off without paying and the same systems are being used to locate stolen vehicles... and the same could be said of the black boxes that the government want to put in our cars for road charging purposes, but in both cases it is also very easy to use the data collected to monitor your driving habits... much the same way as face recognition software could be applied to CCTV systems to track your movements when you leave your car at home!
While all of this is going on, other aspects of our lives are being planned for us. We're being told what our children can and can't eat... Jamie Oliver is being used as a PR tool as they force schools to produce school meals that probably taste even worse than the ones we were forced to eat as children. While this is going on food manufacturers are being told to put big "traffic light" labels on our foods so that we can see if what we buy is bad for us... so start looking over your shoulder to see if somebody is looking to see how much bad stuff you're putting in your shopping trolley! Ok, so we have a child obesity problem here in the UK but telling us what we can and can't eat and making us feel bad about our choices isn't the way to fix it. Give us the information and let us make up our own minds!
Amongst all of this we're also being brainwashed into believing all the global warming hype (try speaking out publicly against it and you'll be labelled a heretic!). Driving the wrong kind of car has become a sin which can only be excused if you pay a high enough pennance (sorry, tax). And the chances are, if you buy the right sort of food, drive the right sort of car and generally do the right sort of things, that will all be bad in a few years time too anyway since once all the "fun" things have been taxed out of existence the government will have to tax new things in order to maintain their finances.
Oh... and don't think about going back to the Conservatives come the next election. David Cameron and his croneys have already pinned their new flag firmly to the new green and healthy world vision!
