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Streams of thought flowed through my mind after watching the movie "Enemy of the State" (Production by Jerry Bruckheimer). The movie's idea is about the government, as the institution having the power of governance, using the authority it has in order to establish and utilize a state surveillance system as a tool to track threats within the state. However, the movie specifically focused on the abuse in its usage that can happen within the institution that will house it (in the case of the movie, the National Security Agency or NSA).

I will not focus on the plot of the movie in this essay but rather, I will discuss several points on what I think about a State Surveillance System being implemented, based on reflections from the movie.

Thomas Hobbes said in his acclaimed work Leviathan that the natural "State of Nature" is violent. With that, John Locke emphasizes as another aspect of the Social Contract theory that there is the need for people to surrender their freedom to a government so that the common desire of peoples to live civilized be attained. Therefore in order to maintain a civilized and orderly society, it is the duty of the state to maintain its existence. An important aspect of this is Law Enforcement wherein the violators of the law or the threats within the state are neutralized. State Surveillance is an aspect of this and it is implemented in various countries in the world.

I discuss my ideas on State Surveillance.

A Weapon
A State Surveillance System itself can be considered a weapon (based on the definition provided by Oxford Dictionaries. link: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/weapon), a weapon that can be compared to the latest weapons with the greatest of upgrades used by the government, thus increasing the efficiency of Law Enforcement in their battle against internal enemies which can be identified as the criminals and/or fugitives both citizen and alien alike, terrorists or potential terrorists, and every citizen of the state itself. It is an efficient weapon because in tracking and monitoring the activities of the populace:
  1. Potential crimes of all degrees can be prevented and compromised.
  2. All crimes which have already happened are visually and audibly documented for legal purposes.
  3. Lack of legal evidences in a legal case which creates loopholes in legal proceedings then is avoided because of these documented crimes, and lastly..
  4. Legal proceedings are swiftly done and justice can be served.
It is a weapon because it weakens the capability of the enemy, just as any weapon does.

It Backfires
It may be an ideally perfect solution to the rampant problem of criminality in every state, but this weapon, if put into the wrong hands, can be abused, as shown in the movie Enemy of the State. As the lust for power of a corrupt, dictatorial and tyrannical regime or government official reaches an uncontrollable state, this weapon that was designed and created to deter criminality, becomes itself an agent of crime. This power lust entity will use State Surveillance to be able to stay in power by:
  1. Monitoring its political enemies.
  2. Silencing its political enemies.
  3. Maintain social and civil order.
By this, the existence of a State Surveillance System in the hands of a corrupt, dictatorial and tyrannical regime or government official becomes itself a problem.

It is definitely a problem especially to the law abiding citizens and aliens of a state as their personal privacy is compromised by this Law Enforcement instrument therefore, the civil rights pf individuals are affected negatively.

An Unstable Agent
Now why is State Surveillance an "Unstable Agent"? First, it is an agent of government for Law Enforcement. Second it is a weapon because it can be both beneficial to society, and an instrument of the lawless. It is "not stable" as it does not have control of itself but rather, entities of the government control its would be usage.

A Compromise
We cannot deny that there are truly threats out there that require the most stringent of treatment. Therefore, a State Surveillance System can still be implemented but limited ONLY for legitimate threats such as identified terrorists.

COPYRIGHT 2019










 
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