Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
I'm taking a page of out Julie Ann's book (pun intended because I am just that obnoxious) and posting a book review.
If you're a fan of technology, video games, math, geeks and/or geekiness, or freedom in America, READ THIS BOOK. It will completely blow you away. It's a masterpiece in the style of such works as 1984 and V for Vendetta about a society gone wrong. It's completely changed the way I look at the world and the technology we use every day. For example: did you know that things you use every single day can be used to spy on you? Everybody knows your computer can snitch on you but did you know that your EZ Pass, your school or work ID, your cell phone, and even your bank debit card and credit cards can all tell a tale about where you've been, what you were doing, who your friends are, and what you spend your money on? Now of course none of you in my circle of friends (well maybe not all after all Meg you were searched at the airport a while back) is a terrorist or even a "person of interest," so you've got nothing to hide and neither do I. In fact I'd be stupid to do anything remotely illegal because as a former bank employee, I'm bonded which means my finger prints are on file with the FBI as someone who was once authorized to handle large sums of money, making my exploits that much easier to trace. However if I can be quite frank I don't think it's any of the government's business what kind of books, DVDs, video games, and music I like to buy or what kind of porn I like to look at, or who I friended on Myspace last week.
This book has inspired me to take a closer look at the world around me and how I interact with it and also to write about it. I'm going to begin research for an academic paper about the War on Terror and become a card-carrying member of the ACLU. I'm not saying that it's a huge deal that the government knows all this stuff about me but I can't help but feel like the DHS has become that freaky stalker guy who digs through my garbage to find out the intimate details of my life to use them to hit on me. Badly. The worst part of all of this is that none of all this techno-surveillance is stopping any actual terrorists. True, it's nabbed a few small-time criminals and an all-around crazy like the douche who said he was going to shoot Obama and I give the DHS props for the few bad guys they have caught. However, bin Laden is for all we know still out there somewhere and Al-Qaeda much to our dismay is still out there recruiting and planning their next move. My point here is this: our privacy is an awfully high price to pay for security systems that don't work. If I wanted Mr. Bush and his staff to know when I was taking a dump, I'd make videos, host them online and charge them all membership fees to watch them. Enough is enough.
If you're a fan of technology, video games, math, geeks and/or geekiness, or freedom in America, READ THIS BOOK. It will completely blow you away. It's a masterpiece in the style of such works as 1984 and V for Vendetta about a society gone wrong. It's completely changed the way I look at the world and the technology we use every day. For example: did you know that things you use every single day can be used to spy on you? Everybody knows your computer can snitch on you but did you know that your EZ Pass, your school or work ID, your cell phone, and even your bank debit card and credit cards can all tell a tale about where you've been, what you were doing, who your friends are, and what you spend your money on? Now of course none of you in my circle of friends (well maybe not all after all Meg you were searched at the airport a while back) is a terrorist or even a "person of interest," so you've got nothing to hide and neither do I. In fact I'd be stupid to do anything remotely illegal because as a former bank employee, I'm bonded which means my finger prints are on file with the FBI as someone who was once authorized to handle large sums of money, making my exploits that much easier to trace. However if I can be quite frank I don't think it's any of the government's business what kind of books, DVDs, video games, and music I like to buy or what kind of porn I like to look at, or who I friended on Myspace last week.
This book has inspired me to take a closer look at the world around me and how I interact with it and also to write about it. I'm going to begin research for an academic paper about the War on Terror and become a card-carrying member of the ACLU. I'm not saying that it's a huge deal that the government knows all this stuff about me but I can't help but feel like the DHS has become that freaky stalker guy who digs through my garbage to find out the intimate details of my life to use them to hit on me. Badly. The worst part of all of this is that none of all this techno-surveillance is stopping any actual terrorists. True, it's nabbed a few small-time criminals and an all-around crazy like the douche who said he was going to shoot Obama and I give the DHS props for the few bad guys they have caught. However, bin Laden is for all we know still out there somewhere and Al-Qaeda much to our dismay is still out there recruiting and planning their next move. My point here is this: our privacy is an awfully high price to pay for security systems that don't work. If I wanted Mr. Bush and his staff to know when I was taking a dump, I'd make videos, host them online and charge them all membership fees to watch them. Enough is enough.