How far are
you willing to let convenience infringe on your daily existence? Does the idea
of being able to order any vending machine item directly from your cell phone
appeal to you? Would you take advantage of the expediency of having your
refrigerator take inventory and then sending an E-mail to your grocer for next
day delivery right to your door?
This new, improved appliance,
along with many others, is available now and already being used by Europeans on
a daily basis. The Finns in particular have adapted their cell phones to do
everything but windows, and the corporate giants are actively marketing the
technology to every government around the globe.
Though no one has mentioned it
as yet, we should anticipate the day when your garage door opener will double
as a full body scanner that you will pass through daily. This device will
detect any health problems, allergic reactions, other physical or emotional
abnormalities and of course, any weapons you might be carrying such as a
shovel, hammer or your beloved Swiss Army knife.
Once you pass through, the
scanner will automatically send an E-mail evaluation to the appropriate health
maintenance or law enforcement agency attaching its daily findings. Should
anything troublesome be detected the agency computer will automatically call to
schedule an appointment with you inside a prescribed timeframe and you could
spend several hours explaining your devotion to a small pocket knife that does
tricks to a recent high school graduate with no sense of humor.
According to Daniel Amor,
International E-Business Consultant for Hewlett Packard, the American Express
Smart Card has a biometric chip with personal data that will be stored in the
memory banks of inter-connected computers. While this may make shopping for
your next car a simpler process, it could also turn your financial life into
something reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984.
When asked if the Smart Card
didn’t put us much closer to having a national or even a global
identification card, Amor replied that Europeans embraced the idea of using
these cards with greater acceptance than Americans. Comparing their history
with ours, I questioned the wisdom. His response was that precisely because of
the historical influences, as in having had first hand experiences of living in
a total police state, they were uniquely aware of these pitfalls. That is why
European nations are light years ahead of the United States in having privacy
protection laws already in place. This alone could be an interesting concept to
contemplate.
If by this time you're
experiencing fearful palpitations over the invasion of your life, you should
be. But the solution doesn't lie in the avoidance of technology. As always, the
responsibility rests squarely on our own shoulders.
Is your lifestyle relegated to
watching Reality TV in a semi-conscious stupor? If it is then the ramifications
of the over-eager agendas brought to bear on us by conglomerates the size of
small countries will eventually run right over you. If you’re willing to
allow that to happen you can expect to be nothing more than technological road
kill.
The responsible individual
acting as his own watchdog will continually stroll the perimeter of his life.
This person will insist that his government strictly adhere to the demands of
its citizens who are alert to the ultimate pitfalls of technological
rule.
Have you abandoned your
constitutional rights and responsibility? Do you have the courage to confront
your elected representative and decisively state your demand for the
maintenance of technological confidentiality for each individual, firmly
reinforced through our legislative process?
It continues to be true that
there is only one person intensely interested in your personal privacy and
economic safety. You have two guesses as to who that might be and as always,
the first one doesn’t count.
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