In
the last few years before I left New Jersey, I began to feel an uneasy
us vs. them attitude towards the police and the government in general.
When I realized it, I wondered why? I’m a republican. I’ve been
pro-police all my life. Why should I now suddenly feel anti-police or
anti-government? Afterall, those laws are put in place to protect me,
right? I’m a part of the system, right? Or am I?
I really had to stop and think what is it that makes one feel
like he is part of the system. The answer I came to was not intuitive. I
believe having the choice to obey the law is what makes one feel like
he is a part of the system. Of course, this REQUIRES having the choice
to disobey the law as well. We need to decide to obey for our own sakes
and for the safety of others. Only then do we feel like this is what we
want and what we choose.
Who
could say No to red light cameras? They seem like a great idea, don’t
they? Technology has advanced to the point where a system can monitor an
intersection for traffic violations and automatically hand out fines.
No opinions to get in the way. No one to appeal to for leniency either.
The problem is this: A.) they never seem to pay for themselves because
their presence at an intersection changes most people’s behavior. The
number of fines collected does NOT measure up to the number of
violations before the camera system was installed. Some communities have
resorted to tinkering with yellow light timing to “catch” innocent
people to generate the revenue needed to pay the millions of dollars on a
system that was supposed to pay for itself. B.) By giving the system
the authority to hand out fines, we have elevated “the system” above the
citizen making him feel like he’s no longer a part of the system.
I
believe the red-light camera system was the worst idea ever because it
removed from us, the sense that we choose to obey or not. And by
removing that choice, left us with the sense of being watched and
monitored and forced to obey. Just what makes a person feel free or like
a prisoner? It’s having choices. It is imperative that we NEVER
place the law in the hands of automated systems. There is NOTHING more
dehumanizing than discovering that a computerized system controls you.
I’m not saying it's necessary to break the law. But it is necessary to
have the opportunity to choose to obey. Without that choice, you are
beneath the system and irrelevant to the system.
Watching
what has happened between the police and the citizens in various
communities around the country, it behooves us to examine why we feel
like we are a part of the system or like inmates under the system. It is
imperative we do this before things get worse. The red-light camera
systems are only one piece of the puzzle.
