Big Brother Really Is Watching You

Trey Smith

People often ask me, in terms of my argument about "ten steps" that mark the descent to a police state or closed society, at what stage we are. I am sorry to say that with the importation of what will be tens of thousands of drones, by both US military and by commercial interests, into US airspace, with a specific mandate to engage in surveillance and with the capacity for weaponization – which is due to begin in earnest at the start of the new year – it means that the police state is now officially here.

In February of this year, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act, with its provision to deploy fleets of drones domestically. Jennifer Lynch, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, notes that this followed a major lobbying effort, "a huge push by […] the defense sector" to promote the use of drones in American skies: 30,000 of them are expected to be in use by 2020, some as small as hummingbirds – meaning that you won't necessarily see them, tracking your meeting with your fellow-activists, with your accountant or your congressman, or filming your cruising the bars or your assignation with your lover, as its video-gathering whirs.
~ from The Coming Drone Attack on America by Naomi Wolf ~

As it now stands, the vast majority of Americans don't give a damn about drones. They believe that drones are used solely in "war zones" far away in distant lands occupied by Muslims. If you mention to these folks that drone strikes have killed hundreds of innocent people, they don't blink an eye. Drones keep us all safe, they say piously.

These folks will continue with their blithe attitudes until -- one day -- a drone impacts their way of life. At that juncture, they will find that they DO care about drones. The only problem is that, by the time they get around to caring, it will be far too late to do anything about it!