Wow! It never quits. It isn't enough that Big Brother is watching us, now the average citizen is encouraged to get involved. Some guy in Winnipeg (I don't know what I should call this guy: a genius or...?) came up with this great idea: If you see a car parked illegally, take a picture of its license plate with your SmartPhone and send it in (I don't know where and I don't care. To some newly created government department, I guess) and you will get 10 or 20% of the fine this illegal parker gets. One woman who was interviewed said, "You mean rat on my neighbor? I don't think so." But a guy said, "Oh sure. Great idea. An extra 10 or 20 bucks would be welcome." Yes, there will be those who will take advantage of this great opportunity to make some extra money. Also a great way to make new friends.
Of course, the idea isn't new. I mean the idea of making money by ratting on others. Judas got paid 30 pieces of silver for doing exactly that.
What will be next? Informing the authorities about a friend who does a few jobs on the side without declaring the money he makes? Someone making moonshine on his farm? Some farmer selling eggs without going through the Marketing Board? There are plenty of opportunities. By the way, that's how it was in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia. Neighbors ratting on neighbors. We all know how that ended.
There are some things the ordinary citizen should not get involved with. If somebody breaks the law all the time, eventually they will get caught. If someone is in the habit of parking in the wrong places or speeding, they'll get a ticket eventually. There is no need for some idiot who happens to have a camera or SmartPhone to report this. It's just not right. That is morally wrong and an invasion of privacy, and that's how I see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment