Blog #10 Essay #3 draft

Tenzin Chodak

ENG 101-0768

Dr. Vasileiou

Essay #3

12/02/2012

Imagine if the world we are living right now is being controlled or watched by others. It is more like one is surrounded by four walls under suffocation. It executes the real freedom and free will that we are having right now. People will then have no rights to make their own move. The technology so called pre-crime adopted in the movie “Minority Report” in order to predict crime of not-so-distant future was not a smart way because it was rejected at the end. If our society finds ways to eliminate crime, terrorism and other threats, we should not do so regardless of the ethical considerations of the means we will use. It violates our privacy and also racially discriminates which can lead the society into big issue in terms of terrorism.

Privacy is our first and foremost concern. The solutions that they used in the movie “Minority Report” in order to stop near-future crime was highly abusing one’s privacy. People were made like a robot where the agents can track everybody and look through their datas. In Bill of Rights, it indicates the “right to be alone”. One can determine their own way of living without others interference. Free will carries the most important role in everyone’s life.

Moreover, we say no to racism or discrimination due to the dark history in past. Racial discrimination is the key to cause cold wars and murders. Every race consider them self “The Superior”. In fact, there is no such thing because we are all same under our skin, and due to few black sheep of the nation, all the others are to be blamed. Additionally, in our today’s world, terrorists are accounting mass number of killings and threats. After they took down the Twin Tower on September 11, 2001, many muslims and their communities were discriminated for no reason since then. For instance, on july 7, 2005, “bomb explosions tore through three London subway trains and a red double-decker bus in a deadly terror attack, killing at least 37 people” (Cowell). Government and FBI agents declared that the attack was harmed by al qaeda. It carried misunderstandings in the nation. So, the religious hate crimes were taken place against muslim communities. They verbally abused and assaulted and also, mosques were damaged by the citizens in London. It is the fact that terrorist attacks were done by al qaeda, but this does not mean all muslims are part of it. 

On the other hand, some may say our society should eliminate crimes and terrorism regardless of the ethical consideration of the means we will use. “One thing that is often said is that when we make choices, at least some of the time, we are directly, introspectively aware of our freedom”(Huemer 108). It acknowledges that we have right to make decision of our own in a situation like John Anderton when him killing Leo Crow was predicted by the precogs. John had to make his own decision whether he should pull the trigger or not, but he decided not to shoot him after knowing the truth that Leo did not kill his son, but Leo was bragging John to shoot him because that is the only way his family will get the money. Leo was not killed by John, but there was no evidence that John Anderton was innocent. So, he was punished and held in the custody of pre-crime division. Is this the way we should anticipate, in order to eliminate crime rates and other threats? 

After all, I believe that if our society finds ways to eliminate crime, terrorism and other threats, we should not do so regardless of the ethical considerations of the means we will use. It violates our basic rights and also racially discriminates in terms of terrorism. Human beings desire can never be fulfilled. So, we always prefer to be in a better environment, but moral and ethical values are very important in our lives.