Importance Of Surveillance And Surveillance Essay

Surveillance and Safety

In today 's society, people are constantly being surveyed. Even without knowing it people are always being watched and tracked. But some ask the question, if all of this surveillance is truly necessary and if it is actually helps to keep the public safe. This is what the next generations will be forced to figure out.

Surveillance is a major part of people 's lives in today 's society. This can be seen as a good thing, but it can also be seen as a bad thing. Most people do not enjoy being watched but with surveillance people can make a claim that it is actually helping to keep people safe. There is almost a camera everywhere you look today. Something you may not have known is that ”You may be ‘live’ on one of the 30,000

In the book Little Brother this is displayed by the increased security and surveillance after the terrorist attacks. The extra surveillance is there to help stop any further attacks. Although it might be stopping further attacks it is also causing people to be self conscious of their lives.some people enjoy the extra security while other feel it is against their rights as a US citizen.“This sounds like you’re saying that national security is more important than the Constitution” (Doctorow 55). Marcus believes that the surveillance is breaking some of his constitutional rights. Marcus wants to fight the surveillance and get his rights back. He states“The important thing about security systems isn’t how they work, it’s how they fail” ( Doctorow 64). Knowing that someone is watching your every move people become paranoid. This paranoia causes people to resent the system and fight against the things that are there to protect them. When Marcus finds that his computer had been wired he felt scared. When a person shows that someone is watching they can become afraid to do anything . In the book the line that is too much surveillance is crossed and this causes people to feel uneasy about being watched. Some surveillance is helpful but when it is overused people begin to resent

But if the government feels as if society needs to increase surveillance to keep people safe is it just."We also had to evade physical surveillance, of course, but that gets easier every time they add a new layer of physical snoopery all the bells and whistles lull our beloved faculty into a totally false sense of security" (Doctrow 21). Most would say they would rather have their privacy. But if losing some of your privacy meant you didn 't have to worry about a terrorist attack on your city. This is the question that marcus must face when he thinks the surveillance is too much. He must think of the benefits and the negatives of being watched so closely. “I can’t go underground for a year, ten years, my whole life, waiting for freedom to be handed to me. Freedom is something you have to take for yourself.” (Doctorow 334) When marcus takes his stand against the government he begins to create a following. These people who follow him and agree with his ideas are also willing to stand up to the government. These people who follow marcus are called little brothers. They are a group of people who try to avoid and corrupt the current surveillance systems that the government has in place. Marcus eventually rallies them to fight the invasion of privacy that the government is causing. “It’s our goddamned city! It’s our goddamned country. No terrorist can take it from us for so long as we’re free. Once