Is Gov’t Tracing Our Actions A Paranoid or Realistic Concern? You Decide.
As I am prone to do in the morning, I routinely check my email and Facebook feed to see what’s new among my friends and acquaintances. Recently I ran across a post that really points up a problem that can have serious ramifications for conservative political thinking. The original post is below, the disturbing response from another person follows and my thoughts on the exchange conclude. Facebook may have its drawbacks, but it certainly provides food for thought at times.
The original post:
WV people- Are you disturbed that Jimbo [WV Governor Jim Justice] has announced he will begin training people for contact tracing?!?!? WTF!?! Not cool.
The response from another commenter:
Do you actually know what contact tracing is? From what you said it seems as if you do not. Are you suffering from paranoia? Do you really think that you or any regular person is so important that anyone cares where they are or what they are doing? Contact tracing is the tracing of an infected person, it has been used for at least 100 years to protect people. If a person had tb for example, the tracer would find out where they have been to find the people who were possibly infected. Can you please let me know how it could possibly be a bad thing?
So here are my thoughts about tracing.
If anyone is conscious and engaged in watching the actions of government (particularly since 9/11/01) they would see that the surveillance state has arrived. CCTV on every block, facial recognition being used every day by law enforcement, and license plate readers on many police vehicles. What makes you think that such an effort as this cannot morph into just another tool in the government tool-box to know who is doing or supporting what cause or action? If you really cannot see it, there is an old saying: “There are none so blind as those who cannot see. “
This is not something that just appeared in the past six weeks. Bill Gates has been pushing implants being inserted with vaccines so that your shoulder can be scanned to determine of you have received the required vaccinations. Digital ID is not science fiction anymore. Data miners are pushing it for all it is worth. Are you not aware of the sophisticated algorithms that social media uses to control what information is allowed to be posted and which gets censored? How much easier will it be for one political power group to find out who is “loyal” to their ideology and who is the “opposition” when they know everyone you come in contact with. Even employers are using social media to screen applicants for employment. Say something that your employer doesn’t like on social media = get fired. If you cannot see the connection to other issues, then you really are in need of help. Think about it once you awaken from your slumber.
Call me paranoid all you like, but the United States has a federal constitution and fifty state constitutions all of which enshrine the common principles enshrined in our Bill of Rights. Activist courts have shredded many parts of Article 1 and Article 2 of our constitution, but the vast majority of our civil rights have been capable of surviving to the present day. The question becomes one of whether or not we believe these “rights” change with the times or are God-given and supersede anything that governments can bestow on us out of benevolence.
This coronavirus pandemic has brought the issue to the forefront of our consciousness like no other single event has been able to do. Perhaps that is its ordained purpose – to open the eyes of those who slumber under the belief that government is benevolent. The nature of mankind is inherently sinful and craving of power. That combination in the hands of people who make laws and control vast amounts of power has been demonic in results. Look at the history of socialism and its various despotic leaders. It is not about equality, it is about equal misery. Nothing more.
What has transpired in America over the past 12 weeks is illustrative and enlightening. It should be a sharp wake-up call for those who still slumber. Do not be fooled. If there were ever a better reason to elect people to Congress and the Presidency that go to Washington to protect citizens from the government, I have never seen one. Nothing government gives to the people comes without a price even when they say it is “free.” Nothing government does is likely to be intended to enhance personal freedom. Think about it.
