Why I Spy, You Spy

Why "I spy, You spy?"

Mainly because "Little Brother is Watching" has already been taken and I think their mission is admirable, even if a little outdated.

I first chose Little Brother is Watching as a reaction to what's currently happening with the pro-democracy demonstrations taking place in Myanmar. What struck me as very encouraging was the effort people are making there to spread the truth about what is happening in their country even while the government is trying to shut down all forms of communication so the rest of the world can't witness.

One reason I started this blog has much to do with reading 1984 last year. Though many people had this on their reading curriculum at a younger age, I'm glad I waited until I truly wanted to read it before I did. Had I read it in high school or college, I may have missed some of the eerie simularities we're seeing as the Internet Age comes out of its infancy. Particularly troubling to me is how many monitoring devices are becoming common place all over the world.

I'm sure there is no irony lost in the fact that Great Britain, birthplace of Eric Arthur Blair (better known by his pen name George Orwell), is home to one of the more advanced systems of monitoring, mainly in the form of CCTV or Closed Circuit Television. But GB is not the only place where you can find networks of cameras watching its citizens.

Places around the world are becoming increasingly occupied by television cameras and other monitoring devices. I would encourage anyone in a city to take an hour while walking around to count the number of cameras pointed your way. You can find them on buildings, in buildings, on public transportation, ATMs, street corners, light posts, public vehicles and in people's hands. While the intent is almost always for increased security, there are too many examples in the past where well intentioned people abused power given to them by the people.

Currently the city of Chicago is putting microphones and cameras all over the city. The goal is to be able to quickly notify police when gunshots are detected so they can readily respond to serious criminal activity. While I applaud the city's efforts to reduce crime, I implore its citizens to make sure they're watching the watchers as well.

The intent of this blog is to remind people that freedom is never a guarantee, even when you're a citizen of a free country, and that we must pay close attention to those we give authority to. Some of us need periodic reminders of the atrocities governments of the past have bestowed on their people. While we may smirk at the junta in Myanmar, or Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, we should never forget our own oppressive actions such as the various ethnic internment camps during WWII, the McCarthy trials and even recently, the war on terror.

The idea of some Big Brother entity watching over us for our own sakes may seem like a thing of fiction, but Orwell's creation has almost taken a life of its own, and in many of the forms he described in his classic story. If Big Brother can manifest himself from fiction, Little Brother must also be a reality (no offense to the Little Sisters out there, you've been acknowledged). We must be willing to turn the instruments of our watchers back at them and make them realize they too are under the watchful eye hence the name "I Spy, You Spy".

While the media does a pretty good job watching the watchers, some have the ability to control the flow of information and manipulate it as they feel necessary. Though journalists are supposed to adhere to certain standards we trust them to uphold, lack of information or coverage can have as much as an impact as manipulated information. This is another function of this blog, to gather obscure bits of information others may not know about, especially those ignored by the media for whatever purposes. Links or actual documents, photos or videos of any abuses, be they government, corporate or personal, anywhere in the world are welcome here.

While I will many times create links to information I think are relevant, especially when quoting sources, I advise readers to scour their data sources to try to form their own pictures of what's actually happening with the subjects I bring up. Make a habit of never blindly believing what others say.

Keep 'em open,
Jake