Unmanned drones are in great demand these days. They have proven to be of tremendous value in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are inexpensive to operate and provide greater flexibility that fixed wing aircraft or helicopters. They are small and stealthy and can stay aloft for much greater time than piloted aircraft. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are even small enough to fly through a window. Their information gathering abilities are second to none.
The effectiveness, flexibility, and low cost of drones gives them enormous appeal. Some are asking that they be used to monitor pipelines. Some are requesting their use to collect storm data. Most notably, they are being requested to help monitor the U.S. Mexican border. The latest addition to the list is local police. Local police have begun requesting drones to assist them in their duties. They want to use drones to track fleeing suspects. They also want to use them to capture the license plate numbers of speeders.
Has it really come to this? Have we become so enamored with technology that we are not satisfied unless the highest and most sophisticated technologies are employed to every instance? Does every sprain require an X-ray? Does every automobile require satellite navigation? Can life be lived without an Ipod? Do we need pilotless drones to run down suspects and catch speeders?
The fundamental and eternal danger with technology is not what it can do. It is to what purposes it will be applied. The same technology that allows terrorists to be tracked at night in the forrest can track me in my back yard. Law has become a flimsy bulwark for privacy and individual liberty, and the Constitution is no longer the defense it once was. The government certainly cannot be relied upon. Neither can the public. I, for one, am going to make it a point to keep my windows closed.
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