Little Brother - Security

Well... Security, much like terrorism, is a driving force in the book. Security is supposed to make us feel safe. It's supposed to prevent bad things from happening. Or catch the bad guys if something bad happens. Or keep you safe in case something bad happens. In general, security is there for our safety.

In the book, security is much stricter than it is now. Marcus' school provides a good example of this. Nowadays, many schools have surveillance cameras. These are an accepted fort of security. In the book, the school has gait-recognition cameras. These look at the way people walk and identify them based on that. Though not completely accurate, this gives the school a way to basically track all the students at all times within the building. Even worse are the face recognition cameras that were used before the gait recognition. These were taken down as they were deemed illegal. Even though they basically do the same thing, track students, the gait recognition just do it in a way that's less obvious. Another way that the school keeps track of the students is through library books. Since they are not allowed to put tracking mechanisms directly on students, they put them in the library books. By keeping track of where the book is and which student has it, the school can effectively track students. I think that these security measures are a bit extreme. Though they are technically allowed, I think that they encroach into people's privacy. Safety is important, but how much of our freedom should we give up for it?

After the terrorist attack, security only gets worse. The government tracks all sorts of things to identify terrorist suspects. Among these are the use of credit, debit cards, the cards used for the BART, etc. From this information, they can basically see where you go and when. When they see a little change in your usual pattern, they immediately react and question you. This happens to Marcus. I think this is a major invasion of privacy. The government should not be able to know exactly where you are at specific times. Also, the fact that this information is perfectly viable as proof in a case made against you makes it even worse. People could no longer go anywhere or do anything without the government knowing. When the government can then go and accuse people who run slightly differently than others of being terrorists, then the government most definitely either has too much power or is abusing the power it has. Or both.

Back at school, security is also upped with new cameras in the classrooms. Just like with the terrorism, the debate between Marcus and Charles holds many interesting points. Yes, the point of security is in fact to make us safer. For the most part, people do feel safer with more security around. However, security does incite a little fear as it tends to make people nervous and they almost anticipate something bad to happen. Most of all however, is that surveillance and all their security would do nothing to actively help them. If a terrorist had walked in and started shooting everyone, all those cameras and everything would not be able to do anything to help. They would not stop the shooter from shooting or hurting anyone. Maybe afterward, they could identify the shooter and understand what happened, but not matter how many cameras and such surveillance is used, nothing would have stopped that shooter. Therefore, it brings on the question of why do we need security then? Marcus also brings up the fact that the government was effectively ignoring parts of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. They are taking away Freedom of Speech and many other basic rights. Security is necessary, but I think it's more for people to think that they are safe than to actually make people safe.

Marcus along with his mother and his father have very different views about security. Marcus and his mom think that the government had taken surveillance to a level much, much too high. They think that the government has no right in accusing Marcus to be a terrorist just because his travel patterns were a little different than before. Marcus' father on the other had, supports the government. He believes that as long as the purpose of making people safer, then almost anything is acceptable.  Marcus and his father have a few fights over this topic. The first happens after Marcus gets questioned by the cops for having "suspicious" BART patterns. Marcus mother usually takes his side, but she doesn't get very involved.

Like with terrorism, there is a fine line between a good amount of security and to much. I've already used this example, but I'm going to use it again. This debate is embodied in the controversy over the full body scanning machines that are being introduced into airports. These were started to be used because of an attempted terrorist attack. Some people say that these are necessary precautionary measures while others think that these are too intrusive. Even though the picture is computer generated and vague, someone is still seeing a naked picture of you. Especially with children, how can this be considered perfectly alright? As security goes up, our rights go down. I personally am not sure about these new machines. I have been through them myself once or twice and they did make me feel uncomfortable. The idea that someone was looking at a picture of me, that was really weird and creepy. But, I do recognize that it is just for security purposes. Where do we draw the line between security that is acceptable and security that is unacceptable? In other words, how many of our rights can they take away before people rebel like Marcus?

I think that security can be both a good and a bad thing. If in the right amounts, then security can help us. It can make up feel safer. Also, presuming that criminals also know about this security, they would be discouraged to do anything and the world would be a safer place. But, too much of a good thing is bad. If like in the book, our security gets ramped up, I would not like it. I feel like all the tracking methods (cameras, credit cards, etc.) are a huge invasion of privacy. The government should not be able to know what you are doing and when. It should also not be allowed to us this information to accuse and question people just because they do not fit with the average. Even though all this security is said to protect you, it would actually not do anything for protection. So, what really is the point of having security? I believe that security is necessary and an inevitable part of life. However, when taken too far it can be used incorrectly in many ways and no good can come of it.

-Lina >.<