The Citizen Police State

While the threats to our liberties from our own government may be great, many don’t realize that the greatest threats to our freedoms may be soon coming from our own neighbors and friends. While reporting neighbors to city officials for unsightly lawns and shoddy house maintenance has become accepted and common place, the precedent is dangerous.

In the great dystopia novel, 1984, George Orwell describes a police state regime which uses friends, neighbors, and even children to spy and report to “Big Brother” about their neighbor’s movements and ’suspicious’ activities. This citizen spy network terrorizes the populace of 1984 to keep in line with the established order.

It seems that lately the governments of the west have taken a cue from George Orwell and are beginning to encourage more active citizen spying. The reasons for this shift are likely many. One reason may be that it makes government seem less culpable while at the same time greatly increasing their effective spying network. Unfortunately, the resultant loss of freedom will be a lot worse than any illusion of security, especially if citizens come to think that reporting fellow citizens is an admirable thing.

Entire article with references.