Here are some of the argumentative pieces we have written.
Electric Spy[1] by Maximo Rivi
For those of us who have read George Orwell’s masterpiece 1984, we know what seeing a new world unfold before our very own eyes is like. I think I speak on behalf of every single one of us when I say that never a book has left us as readers so- distressed. A visionary, George Orwell explored and took the bedrock of communism to its furthest extent. Having published the book in 1949 coincidentially at Communism’s apogee, Geroge Orwell crafted a futuristic dystopia where camaras controlled the masses, who worshipped a man created by the efficiency of propaganda and the ignorance of the people. Maybe the first time our grandparents or parents read this novel, the only relief they found to soothe their anxiety and fear of the unbeknownst future was the fact that technology was not yet mass produced to an extent of having one camera every fouteen people. Having read 1984 recently, disquietude overpowered me and left me defenseless, unarmed against the time we are living in.
How many times have we wished after having watched movies like James Bond that the gadgets he used were not a product of the producer’s imagination but real, purchaseable devices? How many hours have you sat before the television and marvelled over Sci-Fi movies and wished for the time when you simply just said a passcode to enter your bedroom to be now? As crazy as it seems, England is only one step away from fulfilling every kid’s dream… but the question is, should we cherish this, or fear it?
On one hand, the insertion of CCTVs (Closed-Circuit Television) into the streets of London has a positive aspect we can esteem if we think of the utility the latter could provide our culture. CCTVs are direct synonyms for surveillance, and surveillance every moment of the day, every day of the week can be a serious blow to the terrorist and delinquent network. The impact upon the general public in terms of security may be one of the reasons they have come to an amount of one camera every fourteen people, and it is needless to say that having a constant eye watching, waiting, analyzing every movement you make is certainly a partypooper for those interested in the robbing business. Thus, we can conclude that CCTVs are excellent weeders if wanting to cripple and eliminate the crime industry that might upset the simple person, just like you or me, from society.
On the other hand, CCTVs never fail to bring 1984 back to my mind, and when considering that every fourteen people one camera is destined to observe them, I can almost picture Winston Smith walking amongst a crowd of innocent londoners. Security stands before every other concern in the English governemnt, and CCTVs are what they consider as the key to resolving protection issues. It is true that cameras weed out thieves, but to what extent does our private life have to get involved when concerning our safety? Is making our private life public the only way we can battle crime, or is there another purpose the government has for these cameras? When the limit between the public and the personal is tresspassed to such an extent such as the one the Londoners are experiencing, all that seemed good about these cameras has gone with the wind, and at the end of the day, you will always sleep with one eye open, but not necessarily yours…
George Orwell never lived to see his 1984 alive, and what he and many of the people back then feared about the future never materialized before them in their times… They knew that someday, governements would take control over the people and with just a few numbers and cameras and see everything. They died afraid, though safe in the knowledge that it was not them who would live to see this.
For them, the future was something distant, as distant as the year 1984 from 1949; a hazy horizon that projected a terrifying fate for the human race…
For us… The future is now.
[1] Reference to the song electric eye by Judas Priest
Government’s puppets. by Teo Speier
Few would deny that the government wants to have much control over what people do. There is government regulation for many things we do every day, such as what we drink and eat, our cars and homes, or more important issues such as health and education.
To begin with, in the last five years the number of cameras has increased dramatically. People all over the country wonder: Is this really safe? Frankly we don’t really know although the government insists that it is “for our own good”. The police insist that cameras are very good for crime prevention, but it is not nice to know that we are being watched all the time, even if the cameras make the streets safer because they discourage thieves. But is this really true?
Even if CCTV were useful to stop crime, it is annoying and uncomfortable to know that the camera can talk to you through a speaker if you are discovered doing something not allowed, such as throwing garbage on the road. Most people would like to live their own lives without knowing that the government knows everything about you and tells you what to do, what to eat, or what risks you can run or not. Especially young people want to be left alone to leave their way they want to, if they do not harm other people. It is terrible to think that “Big Brother is watching you” all the time.
Apart from personal liberty, the government should not spend so much money on CCTV cameras which are really expensive. For example in London
On the other hand, CCTV cameras are useful on busy roads where lots of people drive too fast or dangerously. In this way, when there are accidents the police can investigate who has been responsible or who deserves to get a traffic ticket. This system of cameras, also widely used at airports and government buildings, especially after the World Trade Centre disaster on 11 September, 2001; can also be used to prevent future terrorist attacks.
To conclude, there are many people who feel that the government is spying on them and they fear that one day they will wake up in George Orwell’s 1984, where the government has total control over the people and Telescreens shows propaganda such as: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength”, and much worse they can record sounds and pictures from inside the homes. Fortunately, that kind of technology is not available yet, but it should not surprise us that it might appear soon and we all become “government’s puppets”.
Where’s the government eye focused on?
By Joaquín Gutiérrez Galván
We live in a paranoid world. Everyone, and I include myself, is scared of the outside world. When we enter home, we check no one is following us or trying to break into our homes. In the streets, we cannot help checking that we still have our cell phones and wallets, in case someone took them. What is the answer to this problem? Is it trapping ourselves home, closing every door and window, and making sure we never see a human being again? Or is it to accept it and just believe someone will do something about it?
None of this should be a problem with surveillance cameras al around the city. We should walk our streets safe, knowing we are not going not be mugged or attacked in some way or other. We should be able to wait for someone coming home, without being constantly worried. But should we give the government full time access to our lives as easily as that? Could we be so blind as not to realize there is someone on the other side of the cameras, watching, listening, and talking with other people. And who is that someone? The answer is: Our own government.
But yet, it may work. We may be safer from burglars or from being robbed. They may be caught after all and this system may work. We do need more security in our lives. We need to be able to live our lives, not being scared of what other people do.
We need to accept the world in which we live in, and adapt to it. We know we are being watched, and not just watched by anyone, but by the government. The answer to our problem of insecurity and control over us is to be ourselves and not let anybody else make us live in a way we don’t want to.
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