Big Brother

Big Brother is watching. Surely you have heard of this before. Pretty much everywhere we go these days we are being “watched.” In other words, there are security cameras all around.  I walk into my local grocery store and the first thing I see is: myself on a monitor. It tells me, that someone is watching. (I think.) I am fine with this. It means my best interest is being protected. When I walk along the isles of Wal-Mart or Target, I can see the security system at work in the ceiling. Again this is for my benefit. It is also for the benefit of the store. They make sure the customers are safe while likewise keeping their merchandise in the store.

Here in Murrieta, there are four photo enforced intersections at three locations. One of which has proved to be very effective. The number of traffic violations per day has gone down from 25 to 40 per day to less than one per day. When my mother went on a senior trip to The Getty, the Mayor spoke about these cameras and how they have saved lives. So why is it then; that people are petitioning for a ban against these lights? Some will say it is a money issue.  Others argue that it infringes on their civil liberties. I make no apologies for my position. I think they need to be there. I don’t think it violates my civil liberties at all.  Is it somehow different than being on camera at a department store?    

Yes, the city pays for the cameras; so yes indeed it comes out of my pocket. And I am certainly okay with that.  I am okay with that because it saves lives. It keeps the roads safer.  So when people ask me to , I tell them straight up: I like them there. And I want to keep them there.

What do you think? Are photo enforced traffic lights an infringement on our liberties? Or is it literally a life saver?