It took 800 years from the date of the Magna Carta to the present for the democratic principles bsed onthe freedom of the individual to grow and mature among the English speaking people.
It is a great irony that the creators of democracy have become its executioners. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, visitors to that country came back with scare stories of how the KGB was following them continuously, watching and noting down their utterances and activities. Now our governments have CCTV cameras, telephones, internet and emails to do the same job with meticulous efficiency, without causing us any concern or pain.
When a country loses its self-confidence it resorts to total surveillance. Who thought that surveillance was the harbinger of destruction for the Soviet and Nazi regimes at the height of their power?
The total surveillance state that our political leaders have created with the intention of safeguarding our freedom and security brings to mind a verse from the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita: “I have become death, the destroyer of worlds”. (A letter to The Guardian from Bill Mathew of Melbourne, Australia, 10 Jan 2014).
When in London My wife and I stay in a flat one hundred yards away from the Israeli Embassy. Every time we leave the building we are followed by cameras. I often wave to them cheerily, wondering if anyone is reslly inspecting the videos at the end of each day. In this situation I am delighted that the security is thorough (or very much hope it is!). This is one example of why there is no outcry to speak against the pervading security in London – it is crowded and an attack is easy to arrange.
On the other hand, if you think about deaths on the road and the carnage caused by guns in America, the terrorist attacks on New York and London were relatively small beer in comparison, and hardly justified the trillion dollars spent on retaliation, with its accompanying death. Since that time a massive new US government department has been formed, complete with some really stupid rules and procedures. Our liberty has, as the letter writer says, been curtailed, and we will now never get it back because no President wants a terrorist attack on his or her watch. Time for the Epicurean garden!
“Time for the Epicurean garden!” Yes, no cameras, no moles, only friends and conversation.