Big Ben is Always Watching

Here in Britain CCTV seems to watch every street corner. Cameras catch everyone’s every movement. They’re so ubiquitous that there’s even a TV show that deals with catching on camera Brits behaving badly. But it is not the obsession with watching other people fail that has struck me here. One look at primetime American TV reveals that we’re just as bad. No, what has struck me is how absolutely okay everyone is with constantly being watched.

The argument goes that the cameras prevent crime. Surveillance cameras help to ensure that people are safe. This is not untrue. Footage from such devices has helped to solve countless crimes in the US alone. But there is a fundamental difference between a business-owner installing protective cameras and the police department constantly watching the population’s every move. The whole thing seems to me more dystopian than any other political reality in the industrialized world. One is only safe in one’s own home; the streets themselves become a sort of prison.

But why be scared, Chase? The cameras are in the hands of good men with generally positive intentions. That much is true. I don’t suspect the police of being some kind of evil force. In fact, I’m generally supportive of law enforcement. But the question here cannot primarily be one of safety. In a world (in fact in a Europe) where the NHS has been demonized for its far-reaching espionage, people are becoming less tolerant of such invasions of personal space. Admittedly, public actions are public and private ones are private. But where does the divide begin? Is it once I exit my house? Is it once I enter the town center?

My point here is not to question whether these cameras actually prevent crime or whether they have some ulterior, more sinister motives. The cultural differences between Americans and Brits fascinate me. In America, people would be up in arms over a decision to constantly watch the populace. In Britain, most people seem to meet the decision with a smile. In a Europe where the NSA is universally demonized, CCTV stands. Yet in an America where the NSA has more defenders, such surveillance is unlikely to take root in the near future. As an American myself, I find the cameras horrifying, but as a traveler, I find cultural differences an interesting lens through which to see our own ideas.