We are all on Candid Camera….smile!

We are always being watched by someone. Photo: Mike Murchison

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by Mike Murchison

Yes. We are always being watched, by countless entities. Government, law enforcement. Friends and neighbours and employers.

 So, can a person ever get away from it all? Or get away with anything at all? I would think the answer would lie in the “No” category.

 Out on the concrete sea, one can get the impression you could. Wide open highway. Late night driving. No one around. Might seem easy.

But these days, in so many ways, we find ourselves “tracked” by some device or another.

Cell phones pinging off towers. ELOGS talking to satellites. Closed circuit cameras mounted high up on overpass signs and power polls.

The weigh stations, truck stops, highways and byways are wired up to know where you’ve been, where you are going and your probable trajectory.

Debit and credit cards. The tap. It’s all wired up to tell some entity where we are and roughly what we are up to.

There is a trade off to a degree. For convenience, ease of shopping and finding out the latest road conditions, we trade our privacy in the fine print we never read.

So. Can one really get away? Be out there on their own on the white line or city streets for that matter? Most likely not. It’s a trade off of convenience we to which we have surrendered.

What if you did find yourself “alone,” off the grid or untracked? Would you change your behavior? Would you do something different if no one were watching?

I guess that comes down to one’s sense of right and wrong. Morals. Fair play and doing unto others. Not because you “have to” but because you “choose to.”

Working alone comes with responsibilities and certain expectation. You will find out soon enough if they aren’t being met. And you may find a lack of human contact and feedback. Afterall,  dialog isn’t needed much these days. Not with the ELOGs, GPS, emails and text messages.

Your employer, law enforcement and Amazon know exactly where you are and how your task at hand is progressing.

It’s hard to believe. I came from a time where we got up early and came home for supper. We stayed out until dark and then came home. Asked by my Mom what I did today my reply was often…”nothin’.”

 One doesn’t have to utter a word about their whereabouts or what they did these days. Somebody already has the answer 

In short: see the job through. Rise up to the responsibilities and keep your hand dirty and your nose clean.

Yup! You, me and everyone else are on Candid Camera…smile!

MLM