home

Linsey Sexton Moritz 4th Security vs. Rights "Security is when everything is settled. When nothing can happen to you. Security is the denial of life (Gremaine Greer) ." //Little Bother//, by Cory Doctorow, and //1984, by George Orwell,// both deal with this issue. Marcus Yallow, the main character of //Little Brother//, faces the department of Homeland Security after being suspected to be involved with the terrorist bombing of a train station.The city of San Francisco is cracked down on. Everyone is tracked in every way, every phone call, email, and train ride is tracked by the DHS. Marcus feels his rights are violated. His friend is being detained by the DHS and his every move is watched. He uses his exquisite knowledge of technology to build an untraceable Internet to go against the government. He leaks his story about the DHS to the press and takes down the department of homeland security. Winston from //1984// is fighting for the same thing. His society is constantly being watched by telescreens. One negative facial expression could force the thought police to come after a person. [|Big Brother] is the political figure that everyone follows, if someone doesn't, they will make it seem like that person never existed. Winston realizes his rights are being compromised and acts out by writing in a journal about what he knows. Both books present the ideas of rights vs. security and how to effectively challenge the system.

These books have taught the readers about security's ability to take away rights and challenging the authorities effectively. Falsely accused, Marcus from __Little Brother__ is detained by the DHS. While being questioned Marcus says "You're talking about defending my freedom by tearing up the Bill of Rights(Doctorow 55)." Marcus knows he deserves more rights than he is getting. He knows security is really just a false sense and his rights are much more important.Mr. Meyers talked about the people who work for the airport security. They take fake bombs through the security to see if it is possible. Nine out of ten times they got through. Even though security has increased in many ways since 9/11media type="youtube" key="xDh_pvv1tUM" height="86" width="211", the government has created a false sense of security. " theyll shoot me i dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i don't care down with big brother they always shoot me in the back of the neck i don't care down with big brother(Orwell )." Winston challenges the system by writing this in a journal. He keeps his rebellion to himself for the most part. When he shares his rebellion it is with only two or three people. Out of these people there are two that shouldn't have been trusted, and they end up betraying him. Marcus is public about his rebellion. He creates the X-net which lets millions of people join in. He shares his way of jamming the DHS with the public. Marcus also holds a press conference to let people know his purpose. His words get changed to make him sound like a terrorist.

//Little Brother// and //1984// leave the reader with many questions.How much are people willing to give up for security? Today when a person walks through airport security they take a full body naked [|picture] of them. That is invading a lot of peoples' privacy. Many people would draw the line with this. In the world today rights are known to the people so they know when they are being taken away. In //__1984__// only one generation still remembered how it used to be, they don't know what they are missing. In //Little Brother// the change takes place during the story. They start to realize what rights are and when they are being taken away. Marcus rebels because he has a personal experience that gives him a reason. Winston rebels because he is one of the only who remembers what it used to be like. How effective are the security measures set up by the governments? Big Brother monitors everything every person does. This can be undermined easily as Winston does. The government in __Little Brother__ tracks where everyone goes. Many people mess with this by jamming. After 9/11 the government has put in many security measures like the limit on liquids. People still are able to bring bombs on to planes. How to effectively challenge the system? Marcus takes a public approach to rebel. He caused more chaos to the public by doing this. The outcome was fairly effective. The DHS was taken down but the workers were not punished. His friends and family were forever affected. Winston's approach caused less public harm. He and the girl he rebelled with were the only ones directly affected. The public did not benefit in any way, the government was still intact. Winston became an unperson, like he never existed.

These books portray a society that could become reality. The technology available today is capable of turning into the technology in the books. In __Little Brother__, they track people buy their bus passes. Wal-Mart has technology to track every item in their store. They could use it for electronic inventory. When someone walks out of the store the tracking doesn’t go away though. They can see every where their product is in use. Any phone company can track where people go if a cell phone is turned on. For about two hundred and fifty dollars anyone can buy this information. This already advanced [|technology] will improve quickly in the next few years. If rights are being taken away now, the future doesn't seem to promising. The world could easily become like Little Brother and 1984. With the information from the books, people can decide where they will draw the line for security. The people should know what they have a right to and be able to stop it from getting as bad as __1984__. Taken from the books is ways that challenging the system don’t work. The skill of being able to challenge the system could be an important skill if the society changes. Being persistent and confident are both qualities that will get a person far.

Little Brother and 1984 shows how security can effect privacy and effective ways to challenge the system. Security is more important than privacy. Challenging the system will never be completely effective, there will always be a consequence.By taking the failures of both Winston and Marcus, one can learn to challenge the system. Works Cited "The Corporatenet will be a big 2008 trend | Open Source | ZDNet.com." //ZDNet Technology News//. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. .Doctorow, Cory. //Little Brother//. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2008. Meyer, Brad. Class Lecture. 14 Jan. 2010. "New Airport Scanner That Reveals Your Underwear | YouBentMyWookie." //YouBentMyWookie - Pop Culture, Entertainment, Toys, Collectibles, Reviews, Lifestyle, Community//. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. .Orwell, George. //1984//. Orlando: Harcourt, 1949. "Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense | Video on TED.com." //TED: Ideas worth spreading//. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. . "Wal-Mart begins using RFID product tags - Tech and gadgets- msnbc.com." //Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World News- msnbc.com//. 30 Apr. 2004. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. .