Nowhere to Go: On Freedom, Control and the Illusion of Safety and Security

A few weeks ago, I was searching google for the contact details of some government officers, hotel and resorts owners or key officers just so I could connect with them directly. For example, I was transferring my tax profile to another city and it was such a slow process as expected. I sent an email directly to the officer in charge and got a response quickly. My message was forwarded to the staff and the issue was resolved straight away. I also have to find the contact information of the sales managers or key officers of the hotels and resorts so I can request for the 'contracted rates' as a travel agent. For private companies, most of the employee details are already available online anyway. Some of these big companies built a Linkedin network with all the information about their staff. It is easier to know who works for who, their connections, and their emails. The big companies have the usual email format, say, Name.LastName@company. And if the contact information is not available, you can just search their names on Facebook and you'll be surprised as to many people don't really care about their privacy. All the posts and pictures are public. You can see who their friends are and all their personal stuff. Believe it or not, a lot of companies are even doing this thing on a massive scale. They hire others or outsource the dirty work of 'lead generation'. I know because I used to work for an online publishing company that even taught me how to stalk people on the internet. And it is not a very difficult thing to do as people these days have made it fairly easy. Can you imagine all the other companies out there with massive database? This is how digital marketing agencies and data scientists work with credit card companies, Walmart etc. They use those profiles to influence people to consume or purchase certain things. Basically, people have allowed these companies to control their lives.

I read this article "Leave No Dark Corner" from an Australian news website about how China is now moving towards digital dictatorship by adopting this so-called "social credit". Unlike in the US, this is more of a state-backed social credit system, it actually gauges how loyal you are to the state. It's funny because it's like a game, I imagine a massive screen monitoring 1.4 billion lives each with points indicator above their heads. There will be cameras everywhere so people will feel safe. Nobody can escape the 24/7 state surveillance. And if you are in the green light, you will have access to privileges like housing with no deposit, renting a car and healthcare. You will get VIP treatment at hotels and airports. You can also apply for cheap loans and fast track to the best universities and jobs. And your children too. And of course, you need to be a law-abiding citizen in order to level up, don't talk shit about the government and even be mindful of your purchases. For example, if you buy too much alcohol, that suggests dependence and you lose points. You get positive points for buying nappies for being a responsible parent. Special privileges, a safe and stable society for you and your children and a secured future in exchange for your loyalty. China's social credit sounds promising to its citizens. What about to the discredited or the 'bad guys?'

Losing points is not only because you disobey the traffic rules or buy lots of alcohol in the supermarket. If you, your girlfriend or your Dad talk shit about the social credit system, you lose points too. Or anything that proves you are disloyal to the one-party state. If you have a low score, it would be hard for you and your children to find jobs, travel or even book a high-speed train. Basically, you become an outcast. The bad guy. You are a threat to the safe and secure society.

There is another interesting article that I read the other day, it is about how people were made to believe "Big Lies" back in the day. Now that people are aware of the destructive effects of believing those "Big Lies', the government has become subtle in their ways to fully control. They use "Medium-Sized Lies". These are usually conspiracy theories that are used by powerful politicians to pump out propaganda to manipulate the masses. Fear-mongering works really well nowadays. Each country has their own Medium-Sized lies. Like in the US, the citizens believe that the rest of the world is a threat or everywhere else in unsafe. In Hungary, some big politicians blame the nonexistent immigrants for their economic demise when the country is unlike other wealthy European countries, like Germany, where most people really want to migrate to have better lives. I haven't lived in my own country the past few years or I've been living outside the society for so long that I don't really know our own Medium-Sized lie. But, it is pretty much clear that our government pumps out propaganda too in order for the citizens to be loyal, like normalizing extrajudicial killings and all the war about drugs for a safer and more secure society. In a country where people are starving for change, people are made to believe that these massive horrible crimes by the government are justified.

I am never really a slave to my own ideological beliefs, I can change anytime. A society with more freedom and run by the most talented has, of course, never really benefited the less successful. Those who are born to lesser circumstances stay at the bottom of the food chain. On the other hand, a rigged and uncompetitive system based on loyalty to the state sounds bad if you prefer to live in a society run by the talented. Power corrupts one way or the another.

Even though I was born in a more community-minded setting, my parents or my environment molded me to be more individualistic. As I see it in my relatives or family members, you are not part of us unless you prove to be trustworthy. Now I am seeing the effect of this kind of upbringing in me as I get older, after moving to places where neighborliness or the sense of community is valued, or traveling to countries where I needed to be with strangers and join others in order to survive and be happy.

One thing is for sure, I value my freedom more than anything else, and if my country decides to adopt this state-backed social credit system, I'm out of here for good. I speak my mind so I cannot live in a place where people will silence me. I am just working on making things better for myself in order to achieve the ease to move in and out. I just don't know when. I don't know for how long I can take or be part of this. I know this sounds utopian, but I actually want to move to a crypto island or some better society with like-minded individuals. But I know that nothing will ever be perfect and there will always be bad apples anywhere you go. They seem to balance things.

I like the freedom to strive for a better life, or live life on my own terms, but sometimes, this system of competition is just making it damn hard for the rest of us down here to keep up. And who does not want to live in a more safe and secure environment? One time, I found myself walking on a dark street in Rio de Janeiro, and I felt the danger like I've never felt before. Though nothing really happened that night and I've walked on many other dangerous streets before, that one moment was just unforgettable. I don't want to live in fear but I also don't want to live under the illusion of safety and security. The Chinese accused the west of exaggerating stuff, which is true in many cases I believe. Perhaps the system might work in the context of China, but let's see. I think it only makes people blind and know little about the outside world. The majority of the citizens defend the state-backed social-credit system as they believe it will greatly benefit their society and that there's still focus on community values. But, they are not allowed to oppose it. How do you know for sure what they really want? It appears that both systems defy human nature. I think that if people suppress their real thoughts and emotions, a society will become a more dangerous place in the grand scheme of things.

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