Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Heard on the radio this morning that New York City is ordering and installing a bunch of surveillance equipment, to better keep an eye on people in Southern Manhattan.

The Radio People were entirely OK with this.
They said that they didn't mind The Government keeping an eye on us, because after all, if you're not doing anything WRONG, then why should you have anything to worry about? They never ever realized that "wrong" can be entirely subjective when it comes to this sort of thing. WRONG right here right now might be stuff that we can universally agree is WRONG: rape, pillage, murder, theft, etc.

but...

That stuff will still be there for other surveillance. What about if right to Free Speech...or Free Press...or Freedom to Congregate becomes slightly...less...legal - and then downright illegal? I know it's cliche to bring up the Holocaust, but seriously - Jews and Roms (Gypsies) didn't do anything wrong either. Their BIG SCARY CRIME was being born with the "wrong" bloodline.

When Bad (or Very Very Insecure, yet Well-Meaning) Guys are in power, WRONG becomes very very fluid, and more and more RIGHTS are abridged in the name of "safety" and "public welfare". Just because it's done by The Government doesn't mean it's good for us, or even a good idea. Anyone can become corrupt, given enough time, power, and leeway. The checks and balances that are in existence in our governmental charter, known as the Constitution, work because all three branches of the government acknowledge and follow them to make them work. These, in fact, are our best hope for prevention of Governmental Tyranny: the competition and conflict among the 3 branches of the government were put in place to prevent any one branch or person from taking over.

I think that far too many people have forgotten about George Orwell's hideous visions of the future - perhaps because they were "trendy" back in the '70s. It's easy to dismiss things you'd rather not think about, especially if they were popular, once. But Animal Farm and 1984 aren't just trendy books, that were popular once and then relegated to the dustbin of history and literature.

I would much rather not have all these Governmental Eyes poking into my business, watching my every move. I realize that most of my life is already available for Governmental Scrutiny - every time any of us use a credit card, open a checking account - heck, even get a paycheck - the government knows about it and can track us. That's a price of doing business. This post by its very existence is adding to the Documentation about the Inner Workings Of My Brain, such as it is. And heck, we're already visible by satellite & Internet. Google Earth anyone?

I'm not saying that the cameras and the intent behind them is a bad thing. They're not, in and of themselves. Higher camera surveillance in high-crime areas saves money and lives - the citizens aren't dependent upon a patrol driving by at a critical time to prevent a crime. A few people can monitor these cameras, and send help when & where it's needed, rather than having several hundred people physically monitoring those areas. That's a great idea, and a good use of resources.
However, the mindset behind the radio announcers' comments is, I think, a bad thing. Assuming that just because you haven't done anything WRONG means you have no reason to fear is true in and of itself - but who defines "wrong"?

Who watches the watchers? Who guards us from the guardians? Who will protect us from our protectors?

We have to. Free elections, intelligent and informed voters, making the BEST choices they can, rather than the "easy" choices, or the "incumbent" choice because...eh, I can't be bothered to find out anything about the candidates - WE have to make sure by our INTELLIGENT use of due process, that OUR rights are kept safe.

WE watch the watchers.