Controlled
Government Control, Manipulation and Domination! The government takes away the rights and privacy from those that it serves. Today we as a people are limited to the tasks we want to accomplish and this as an issue is likely to expand In the future for there are no true set boundaries being set in place in order to prevent it. The control power that the government possesses connects with the domination power that the government establishes and those two power elements lead to its manipulation of the people it functions for.
Basic controlling actions taken by the government over people include a few of the following areas: curfews or time limits, property restrictions, purchases, utilities, traveling, and luxuries that stem from the mentioned categories. When it comes to curfews or time limits the government outlines there is a varying form of restraint. Locally here in Turlock you must only do your watering on certain days of the week and at a certain time period according to your residence by zip code or a fine will be likely (City of Turlock). An example of the rights and privacy taken away here is if one wanted to fill up a newly purchased pool for a barbecue get together for the next day but one’s occupation does not allow one to be able to go home and do so during the set regulation hours then one must face a fine without true fault being present. The occupational situation previously mentioned also is suitable for debate when it comes to noise levels from construction or other activities which may be subject to fines without the proper permits or from the failing to follow city ordinances (City of Turlock). Property restrictions that are set in place have an effect on activities that can be considered a type of business, development, or miscellaneous action (City of Turlock). In Turlock If you sell a product or perform certain forms of skills for profit from your home you must have a permit from the city to do so (City of Turlock). My perception is that this takes away the freedom from an eight year old to set up a lemonade stand to buy himself some candy or toys with the money he makes. Development of property such as the building of stores, homes and redevelopment of homes, building facilities, etc. has to be consented with permission from the city (City of Turlock). Taken away here is right of doing what one seems fit with one’s land. What if one wanted to add an extra room for recreational activities to one’s home and the city restrictions do not allow this action? One must still pay property taxes even though one can’t indulge oneself with the luxury of extra space desired “?”. Purchases that are controlled are things such as alcohol, medicine, entertainment and even technology. Violent movies playing in theaters or violent video games sold at stores can only be bought by those who meet the set age limit which is given by a government regulation group (Federal Communications Commission). This type of age restriction also goes for medicines. One day I had a terrible sore throat and cough and I had to study for a test the next day so I went to the store and bought some tussin cough medicine. The problem I ran into was that they asked for my ID and even though I was of age I had forgotten my ID at home so I had to drive back and get it to make my purchase. I had the luxury of driving during the bad weather of that day. What if someone walked all the way to the store under the same conditions and made a second trip? Their state of health could become more severe and their ability to accomplish the studying could be unpromising. My point is more than just a purchase is restricted when these regulations are placed; peoples’ lives in the long term can be forced to negative alternatives. A Varying curfew regulation from state to state is when licensed minors are not allowed to be drive. Here in California after eleven o’ clock at night or before five o’ clock in the morning unless with adult supervision licensed minors cannot drive (Law.findlaw.com). The government restraint of traveling is that one has to have a passport to travel out of the country and one must state the reasons for doing so. One should be able to take part of common day to day life and actions without a type of potential repercussion.
Domination is the utilized government power that citizens grow accustom to and tend to overlook until the effect that it has upon them as citizens is pointed out. Domination as a power for the government is established by the actions of past history of control by the government. This domination ranges from laws and actions that have been put forth by the government that people have accepted and adapted to. Certain instances where the domination takes place consists the areas of government task forces such as police departments and hospitals as well as the laws that are incorporated from these institutions to the common day tasks of citizens. If one were to be driving to the store for the groceries and the traffic light turns red or there is a stop sign one is forced to stop the car for it is the law enforced by police even if there are no cars in sight for miles. Once upon arrival to the store one must find a parking spot and if one is not handicap then one cannot park in the space that is reserved for the handicap. If the parking lot is full and one parks on the side of the street then one must not park in the area that is painted red or block a fire hydrant for a ticket will be given to the driver and the car could be towed away. Speed limits, and other traffic signs or signals fall in the same domination category. Police cars and hospital ambulances have set traffic laws that when their vehicle sirens are on drivers must pull aside from the road and stop to let them pass whether one is returning home from the store or running late on the way to work. Daylight savings time is one of those events which the government enforces to its citizens lives that it becomes necessary event for its citizens. All time telling devices are to be adjusted twice a year to stay synchronized to the same time management plan as the rest of the country. Holidays and the forced closing of government related offices which prevents the payment of bills and other tasks is another form of dominating. However one gets use to these events and plans according to them in order to adapt.
Manipulation that the government utilizes is derived from both of the control and domination that are set amongst its people. An embedded scare tactic or adaptation is what the manipulation power provides the government over its people. The reason that one does not break the speed limit or pass a stop sign even if there are no witnesses in sight is that there is a fear that someone is watching. This fear is something like the one that George Orwell mentioned in his book 1984, a fear that the government will punish what they considered as wrongs committed (Orwell). Acts such as robbery or some type of misbehavior such as vandalism are what people in today’s world do not risk in most cases for they fear the repercussions. An example of this paranoia is the way Marcus Tallow in Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother acted after he was held captive by the government and told not to mention anything he experienced during his captivity by homeland security (Doctorow). The experience lead to his insecure feeling that gave him the urge of looking over his shoulder when he committed mischievous acts which could put him back in the same predicament he was in before. Basic control is involved with manipulation, for people fear that if they break regulations put in place by the government they will get caught and disciplined for their actions. This manipulation power the government uses over the people is present in what could be considered common actions and possessed items. License plates on vehicles are considered normal but they can be used to track people down if needed. The government sets up its office work hours from the morning and at calls it a day in the evening. Citizens are manipulated to go by the same time schedule as the government for it has been set as the normal base schedule for daily life. One senses this when shopping at the store and leaving it until it closes at nine o’ clock at night, there is a feeling of obligation to head home for it is considered to be past the normal time frame that is the base schedule. This is why I think it makes sense that the government sets up this type of base time schedule for it gives a routine to its citizens and prevents them from being unbalanced or in need of services. However one could feel manipulated to the point where any routine can become normal. If one worked late night shifts and called it a day in the morning one would grow accustom to it as well. There is some vulnerability present when it comes to the people the government rules over. That is that the government possesses a potentially exploitable power since they can take the action to control the daily schedule that everyone arranges their day by and make it appear as a normal dominance.
Local is the part of the government that should be closely monitored for it represents the roots that hold the metaphorical tree of government at the base. An invisible scale of power that presents two sides, the role of the citizens and the roots of government, tends to tip its way more to one side bit by bit. The unseen scale will eventually present more power to the government which can be overlooked till the day comes when it is too late to balance things out. By then perhaps we will be living in a world that is depicted as that of which was in Cory Doctorow Little Brother, or as an alternative a “Big Brother style of government system” as George Orwell described in his book 1984 or perhaps somewhere in between.
Works Cited
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Cityofturlock.org. City of Turlock. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://www.ci.turlock.ca.us/citydepartments/developmentservices/planning/applicationforms/homeoccupationpermits.asp>.
Cityofturlock.org. City of Turlock. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://www.ci.turlock.ca.us/citydepartments/policedepartment/activitylog/index.asp?date=10/29/2009>.
Cityofturlock.org. City of Turlock. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://www.ci.turlock.ca.us/citydepartments/policedepartment/specialoperations/neighborhoodservices/noise.asp>.
Federal Communications Commission. Broadband.gov. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://www.fcc.gov/>.
Law.findlaw.com. Thomson Reuters, 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/california/?DCMP=KNC-General-Law&HBX_PK=California+Law&HBX_OU=50>.
Little Brother. Kdevries.net/teaching/. WordPress. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. <http://kdevries.net/teaching/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Cory_Doctorow_-_Little_Brother.pdf>.
