Blog 15: Minority Report response

Our society in its current state is too well guarded. The sense of security we have is not an acceptable trade off for the invasion of ones own privacy. The “Patriot Act” (which was signed into law on October 26, 2001), gave all law enforcement agencies the right and ability to trace and listen in to telephone calls, personal emails, and even private records such as medical and financial. This added policy invades our personal thoughts, feelings, and beliefs to the point that we now may feel the need to suppress these very same concepts, ideas, and reasons for fear of maybe wrongful persecution. This elevated state of security creates a level of paranoia. Who is this person listening to our conversations, how much do they really know about us? I feel that our society need not be so heavily guarded and monitored. To monitor societies ever email, phone call, and private record is almost the equivalent to observing and monitoring a prisoner in a detention center and or correctional institution. Granted society needs rules and restrictions to help perpetuate order, this does not and should not have to include as well the invasion upon our own private matters. The film “Minority Report” told a story of a society whose crime was monitored by “Precogs” these such oracle like beings could see into the future minutes or hours or days before a crime of murder could have occurred. The outcome from their predictions was enough to arrest an individual minutes before he/she could or would’ve committed a murder. This was done giving the individual no chance of defending himself or herself or even making a choice. Now this could be compared to our society now, with knowing and listening in to our communications or searching private medical records could we not also be convicted ahead of time without making a choice or being able to defend ourselves. We live in a society where assumption is everything. At time just this very same assumption can be the downfall of an innocent. Same was also seen in the “Minority Report” when Tom Cruise’s character was wrongfully arrested based on the assumption that the “Precogs” knew without a doubt that his actions where pre-written and determined.