The peacemaker of our time.

I was listening to the radio about how crime has mysteriously decreased in some cities.  Of course, some agencies are quick to take credit for this.  From Homeland Security and New York City police to the Prison Industrial Complex, all are quick to take credit for a reduction in crime.  However, I suspect something else is at work that has little to do with the boondoggle efforts of bloated police forces or even the number of guns in the hands of civilians.

Years ago, I was reading a Tom Clancy novel, Red Storm Rising.  It was a  novel about the Russians doing a bolt from the blue attack and being thwarted.   One statement that made the story more interesting was about how it was done.  A particular sergeant who somehow survived a surprise assault by the Russians was overrun and became trapped behind enemy lines.  He fortunately had, in the words of Tom Clancy, "one of the most powerful weapons in the U.S. military".  No, it wasn't a backpack nuke.  It was simply a radio.  He then proceeded to call in air strikes, artillery and other nasty countermeasures that ultimately stopped the assault.

In a similar way, most people (even children) now have that capability.  It exists in the form of a cellular telephone.  These little devices have an emergency number 911.  Thanks to that number, any incident can now be quickly reported.  When an incident is reported, resources start going to the site of the call. Even if the perpetrators left the scene, it's likely somebody may have recorded the event on a phone camera. Depending on what was reported or recorded, firemen, police, ambulances, helicopters, national guard units and even regular army could be called in until the threat is addressed. What is the difference today versus 20 years ago?  Is it bigger, better faster fire trucks? Is it due to some super breed of airport security guard? No, it's simply more information from any given incident.

With the emergence of phone cameras and GPS, the environment in the United States isn't very private. We already live in a virtual police state where movements are tracked.  It's a world where speeding tickets are issued by machines and mailed to the car owner.  It's a society where photos can be taken out of context for wrongful convictions (For example, speeding tickets for people who own the car versus drive the car).  It's also becoming a world where neighbors are encouraged by society to inform on other neighbors and where children inform on their parents.  In trade, we have a world where petty crime is less common but where minor incidents often are punished to the full extent of the law. It's also a world where Google can give the appearance of significantly boosting  IQ but lack of that data crutch can be crippling. It's the old choice of freedom from versus freedom to.

Some say this world of complexity will someday fail suddenly.  I disagree.  I expect that some version of mobile-data will be maintained in all but the worst energy depletion scenarios.  I base this on the fact that various 3rd world areas with sketchy economies still manage to provide surprising levels of cellular service over relatively barren areas.  Given that, is almost ubiquitous connectivity worth the trade of living in a surveillance state? That choice for now is still up to the individual.  Leaving the mobile phone at home or pulling out the battery (or just not charging it) is still an option. \