Flock cameras are all over the news lately, and for good reason.  It should come as no surprise to anyone that when you allow the government a virtually unlimited ability to surveil and track you, abuse of that ability will then occur.  That should be the obvious end result to the situation we find ourselves in here in the Land of the (used to be) Free.  And make no mistake, this problem is much bigger than you realize.  There are hundreds of thousands of Flock cameras in tens of thousands of cities and towns already installed in this country, with more going up every day.

Representative Danny McCormick (R-Oil City) has announced plans to file a bill to ban Flock cameras in Louisiana, and he should be applauded for that.  McCormick is one of the few in the legislature who truly believes that he is at the capital to serve the people of Louisiana.  We should all support this effort, and hope for it to pass, while not holding our collective breath.  The smart money says that this effort is doomed to fail because McCormick will be unable to find many fellow legislators that are willing to stand with him (and the citizens) in this.  Many self-described conservatives in Baton Rouge will vote against banning these cameras because there will be a lot of pressure (and money) behind keeping them in place.  And conservative principles are cheaply traded at the capital.

There is no doubt that these cameras help to solve crimes and may even prevent some crimes.  That can’t really be argued.  But that is not a reason to submit to global government surveillance.  The simple fact is that if we want freedom and privacy, then there will have to be a sacrifice of some measure of safety.  The founding fathers made it clear that they understood that 250 years ago.  Most Americans realize that and accept that, choosing to accept the risks that are inherent to living in a free society.  Government will always push the line further towards safety (which actually means control).  That is simply the nature of government.  It constantly strives to increase its power, and the citizen must push back to keep it in check.

Law enforcement agencies are big proponents of these cameras.  Again, this does not mean that those police officers are bad.  It is simply the lens through which they view the world.  They are charged with enforcing the law and maintaining public safety, and they view these surveillance cameras as a tool to help them do that.  While completely understandable, that does not make it right or acceptable.  We, the People should not be forced to give up our privacy and freedom (and make no mistake, freedom and privacy are completely intertwined) in order to make the job of law enforcement easier.  

A permanent dusk to dawn curfew would make things much easier for law enforcement as well, but is anyone willing to accept that?  Like so many other important issues, safety vs. freedom and privacy is a balancing act and the question is where the line will be drawn.  Or rather, where we will allow it to be drawn.  Many people believe that with the perpetual surveillance state that is rapidly coming to be in this country, we blew past that line long ago.

Flock will swear that they protect the information that they collect while watching your every move.  Of course, one can’t know if they are or aren’t following those guidelines.  One must simply trust them.  And we have already seen many examples in the news of how that is working out.  There have been instances of innocent people held at gunpoint because a license plate was misread, and worse, dishonest police officers using the cameras to stalk people.  If you give people access to that type of information, it is inevitable that some people will abuse it.  And do we even know that Flock only collects the information that they claim to?  Of course not.

But the reality is that we should not even be in the position of having to trust that our data won’t be abused.  They should never have that information in the first place.  No citizen of the Unites States should be under surveillance unless they are suspected of a crime and are under investigation.  This 24/7 surveillance of everyone, everywhere, all of the time should be unacceptable to everyone.  Simply put, the government (or a private company like Flock) has absolutely no business knowing every move that innocent, everyday citizens make in their daily lives.

One can make an argument that there is a use for Flock cameras.  They are often found in parks for example.  While many may object to that as well, the argument can be made that a person knows that they are in the park and can choose to frequent that park or not.  You are at least offered a choice in that situation.  There is no opportunity for choice in the matter when one is driving down Main Street, USA and is passing by cameras on a regular basis, having their every move tracked and they aren’t even aware of it in most cases.

And to those who say, “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry about”, think about this:  Would you feel the same if your city set up a Flock camera across the street from your house?  What if it was pointed at your house where it could record everyone that came to visit your house, your kids playing in your front yard, maybe even through your front windows?  Would that be okay? After all, you aren’t doing anything wrong, so you have nothing to worry about.

But the government would never do anything like that, right?  Right.

Please ask your legislators to support Rep. McCormick in this effort.  This non-stop government surveillance has got to stop.  But rest assured that it won’t stop until the citizens demand it.  Otherwise, government will keep pushing those limits.

Thank you for reading The Hayride!