“Throughout history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities, the political, the religious, the educational authorities who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing, forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable, open-mindfulness; chaotic, confused, vulnerability to inform yourself.”
Perhaps Timothy Leary was onto something when he wrote this many years ago. Some of us are familiar with this and agree with it. Others may just be waking up to the idea that we have been unwittingly part of a programed thought process that has kept us in a simmering pot like a slow-boiling frog.
The 1980s seems like yesterday. We were cellphone-free and, sometimes, still got an opportunity to listen in on our neighbors’ conversations on the “party line”. That was your biggest risk for violations of personal privacy, though it was quite enough to create fodder amongst the gossip mill. Those simpler times were even more complicated than the 1950s but, quite frankly, I’d take anything over what we have today. It appears we are indeed frogs in a slow boiling pot. We give away a little piece of our freedom, privacy – even our lives – one data fragment at a time.
Every business wants your information; and we have been mindlessly handing it over for years. I remember the first time my local grocery store offered up a discount card in exchange for some personal information; i.e. income, address, age. I didn’t mind sharing a little demographic information with them in exchange for ten cents off my pancake mix. After all, I was a college student learning about the importance of demographics in marketing and had not woken up to what the future could hold. Since then, virtually every store and every brand wants additional information in exchange for the promise of something more wonderful and/or convenient. I even had one who wanted my social security number. I passed on the discounts for that one. We are in a world that has trained us to freely give out personal information. Originally, it seemed fairly benign, but we’ve driven the car off of a cliff. This was demonstrated, recently, in a TikTok video that showed people putting their arms out, without question, to have a lint roller rolled over them. I have nothing against lint rollers, but I feel like it might be a good idea to ask “why do you want me to do that?” before acquiescing to any possible violation of my personal space. Evidently brain cells are on the decline, and it is time to begin to opt out of the folly.
In June 2023 I entered into the security line of BWI airport to assure TSA that I wasn’t a risk of hijacking a plane. (Though recently, I did get caught trying to smuggle a $6 bottle of water onto a plane in Panama that nearly caused an international incident. I must have looked very dangerous. But I digress; back to Baltimore. I noticed that the security guard asked each person to stand and get their picture taken after scanning the passport. There were no questions asked, and no information given. People were just told to stand and have their picture taken. I found this odd as I saw no notices and had never seen this before. I asked the guard if I could opt-out and with a big grin, the guard said absolutely. That was a wake-up call.
Coming back into the country and dealing with customs, the same situation happened. I again asked, “can I opt-out?” The security guard was a bit disgruntled but she responded “yes, but it will take a few extra minutes.” And then I realized “There it is!” In the beginning, we have the option to opt out, but the option seems to turn into something that is mandatory that we follow without question. So what are the pictures being used for? The answer, biometrics. According to dictionary.com, biometrics are “the automated recognition of individuals by means of unique physical characteristics, typically for the purposes of security.” This is just a small step towards the automation of nearly everything. You want a peek into the future of America, look at China and ESG – otherwise known as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). It is a set of standards for a company’s behavior, used by socially conscious stakeholders. While I am not going to take a nose dive down this rabbit hole, the information we are freely giving will be turned on us. You may not have an issue with the person or entity viewing your “profile” today, but that same information could be used against you when that person or entity deems you to be a threat, simply because you disagree with their views on anything from vaccinations to climate change to your preferred candidate for political office.
Let us look at something more familiar. How many people walk into a doctor’s office or hospital and sign the electronic pad without even knowing what is on the screen? How many of those same people also know that you have just signed away some of your ability to make medical decisions for yourself placing your decision making in the hands of a hospital. It is not the doctor making the decisions, it’s the administration of the hospital deciding the standard of care that will be applied to you whether necessary or not. The same people who are willing to medically castrate a child are the same people deciding what will happen with your body that day. I’m betting you might look at that “sign here” information a little more closely once you think about that! I certainly did.
In the name of convenience, we are giving away our freedoms. If no person would have walked into a store with a mask, no store would have required them. It is time to be aware, say no, ask to opt-out, even if it is uncomfortable. We have to question because our freedom is at stake.
In the name of convenience, we are giving away our freedoms.
We must think about our possible loss of freedom with every signature and rewards point in exchange for information and photo identification we provide. Pennsylvania Senator Doug Mastriano established his “Walk as free people” movement and message. To be sure, there is much more behind that message than a slogan on a t-shirt. As Americans, we need to rediscover it as a way of life. Together, we have the power. Use it or lose it.
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