Is America becoming a police state? Veteran journalist Cheryl Chumley believes that we are and argues that in her book, Police State, USA. She is not the sort of journalist given to over-reaction. She is a full-time writer with The Washington Times. You can find her byline in articles she has written for The Washington Examiner, Blaze Magazine, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Human Events, and Townhall Magazine. She is also a journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation.
America, she says, has become the police state George Orwell envisioned in 1984. In fact, the intrusion into our lives is much greater than he imagined many decades ago because we have much more sophisticated technology than anyone might have predicted. The intrusions range from small things like traffic light cameras to the targeting of particular groups of people. We may roll our eyes at a Nanny State that tells us what to eat or be terrified at the militarization of our police force.
The threats come in many forms and from many places. A chapter on “Big Green Takes the Wheel” reminds us how the EPA, the Department of Interior, and the Justice Department use concern over the environment to crack down on businesses and individuals.
A chapter on “Big Business Turns Big Brother” reminds us that the threats to our privacy and the surveillance of citizens isn’t just coming from the government. Not only is government mining Big Data, but businesses are also using this information to gain a competitive edge and intrude into our lives.
In previous commentaries, I have talked about threats from drones, data collecting, and these secret governmental centers that collect such data. She also addresses these issues and adds information that should concern citizens.
Two of her solutions are to pray and to vote. She believes that a spiritual revival and awakening are necessary in America. In her chapter on “Throw the Bums Out,” she makes the case for all of us to vote intelligently for our representatives. We have a responsibility to keep America from becoming a police state.