Government Surveillance In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Standing Up to Turn off the Cameras* [1] Every morning at the beginning of the school day, I stand and pledge my allegiance to the American flag reciting at the close, “with liberty and justice for all.” [2] The flag represents loyalty to my country as well as the freedom and equality my country grants me. When these rights are threatened by unfair and misused government surveillance, I question my daily allegiance. I want to feel safe in my school, my community, and my home, but I also do not want to feel that Big Brother’s watchful eye may endanger this security. [3] Although surveillance cameras can solve crimes, these monitoring systems can also negatively impact justice and privacy. [4] Justice is not always served by the government:

[PC] In Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451, technological surveillance unfairly serves as a police force. When the protagonist Guy Montag is combatting censorship, the government uses several means of surveillance to halt his efforts. [5I] As the chase begins, the government manipulates the public via their television sets: [5C] “Everyone in every house in every street open a front or rear door or look from the windows. The fugitive cannot escape if everyone in the next few minutes looks from his house” (Bradbury 131-2)! [5E] Although a camera is not directed on Montag, the public’s televisions act as surveillance in monitoring his renegade situation. The government only needs to push the buttons of the masses to commit its unjust acts. [6I] The injustice continues as the government makes an innocent man a scapegoat. After Montag has escaped police