I read with some astonishment the article “Driver’s license scanners could help reduce problems on Pittsburgh’s South Side, DA says” (Aug. 19, TribLIVE) about the meeting where South Side bar owners met with District Attorney Stephen Zappala to discuss surveilling all of their customers, on the off chance that a tiny percentage of them might be troublemakers. What happened to the idea that we are assumed innocent, Mr. Zappala? Most Americans are offended when they hear of China’s attempts to surveil Uighur citizens 24 hours a day, yet when this country takes significant steps to invade our privacy and create a police surveillance state, they seem to just shrug their shoulders.
Unfortunately the article doesn’t even mention privacy implications, or whether any freedom-loving Pittsburgher might find the systems offensive, invasive or downright frightening; it’s just like it’s no big deal. It’s a shame the DA does not feel capable of doing his job without infringing our Constitution. Of course this comes at a time when an astonishing number of Americans elect to carry a “device” that allows government and industry to observe nearly every action, including their bodily functions.
I hope Americans will wake up and demand certain basic privacy protections before this country turns into a total surveillance state, but I think we are a dangerous distance down a slippery slope. None of our politicians seem willing to ensure the constitutional right of our citizens to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” without the temptation for someone to just kind of check up on people a little!
Paul Ganter
Petersburg, Pa.