The other day I read a story on the BBC web site about a student in Texas who has refused to carry a radio tag that tracked her movements. The details are here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20461752
The student asserted that the requirement to be radio tagged violated her religious beliefs as implied in Revelations 13, which refers to the “mark of the beast.”
There was an interesting quote from the president of the Rutherford Institute:
‘”The court’s willingness to grant a temporary restraining order is a good first step, but there is still a long way to go – not just in this case, but dealing with the mindset, in general, that everyone needs to be monitored and controlled,” said John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute in a statement.
‘Mr. Whitehead said student tagging and locating projects were the first step in producing a “compliant citizenry”.’
I think the concern here may go beyond the possible creation of a “compliant citizenry.”
It extends to the question of how we define citizenship, and what may lie beyond that social category in the future.
The proposed radio tags are also used to track inventory. This prompts a meditation:
INVENTORY
Once we were citizens
Then subjects
Then inventory
We will be bought and offered –
The stock may not remove itself
From the stockroom
Not now, and only children
But logic makes good models
For the forward-minded
No loyalty required
Of the inventory
Only usefulness and long shelf life
A use-by date
And a certificate
From the ministry of light industry
And as the young stock is disposed of
So will the old who are not sold
Be seconded, unused by love
Antiquated being is the scheme
Until a precious few are left
To show in a museum
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