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One Nation, Under CCTV

Could you be arrested for your opinions?

By Spencer DixonPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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From watching where you walk to watching what you say—the UK is one of the most prominent surveillance states in the world. 

Great Britain, a once proud empire that at one point controlled a large portion of the territories on Earth. A nation built on the shoulders of our forefathers' accomplishments, it was once a shining beacon of the western world, so where is it today, in 2018?

In 2018 the British government has a new vision for a modern Britain; this vision isn’t one of a free country; the claws of political correctness have securely fastened their hold on the throat of our freedom and it has no intention of letting go. In 2018, the police have shifted their focus from catching terrorists and preventing attacks to catching those with the wrong opinions. To someone in America where free speech is law, this must seem like an Orwellian nightmare, but this is our reality.

Almost daily, citizens of the UK are contacted by the police after they post something online that could be misconstrued as hateful. Now, there are people with opinions that we can all agree aren’t good for society, but does that mean we should lock them up? That we should entrust those in power to decide who can and cannot speak? From 2015 - 2016 there were 80,393 “hate crimes” recorded in the UK, 56 percent of which were public order offenses, where if you are deemed to be saying something “obscene” in public, you are liable to be arrested. What do you deem to be obscene? It doesn’t matter, because if someone else deems it to be obscene, then that’s it, case closed.

Now you could almost let this system of thought policing go unnoticed. I have for many years. I’m not out on the streets screaming racial hatred, so I’m safe right? It was just something that I accepted—say something racist in public, you could get arrested. It seemed almost reasonable. Now times are changing and as that grip tightens more and more, we are seeing the true underbelly of the beast. Now it's not just outright racism that is being policed, it is our opinions, our right to question certain groups of people or ways of thinking. If it can even remotely deemed as offensive, you had best watch your tongue, because the censors are watching and they might not like it.

A small but very vocal minority in our country cheers on this thought policing as though it was single handedly saving the planet and curing cancer at the same time. Those who are offended by every whim and way of those they disagree with now cheer on our government as they crack down on “controversial” opinions. They watch and celebrate as they send our country down the dark path on which it is set.

So what is Britain in 2018? Is it a bastion of freedom, a multicultural utopia that the rest of the world should look to and take inspiration from? No, Britain in 2018 is more of a low security prison. We may not be able to see the bars around us, but they’re there and they’re closing in. In America where freedom of speech is a basic right, as it should be, they look to us as a warning sign of just how badly things can go. Maybe we will someday get our freedom to speak our minds, but today is not that day, so as we watch the sun set on Britain, keep quiet, lest they hear you think.

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” - George Washington
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