Locks on everything. What’s that all about? This is all mine, keep off it. I read in the paper this morning that there are more ‘gated communities’ springing up around Britain. This is an extension of what I am referring to. It starts with people being over-protective of their material goods. The locks multiply on their front doors, the locks go up on the windows of the house, alarm systems in every room, infa-red, trip switches on the interior doors. Then a stark bright light is erected on the front of the house to blind even the best willed of passers by. A gate is put up, then another replaces it, taller, maybe metal bars. A sign saying ‘private property, trespassers will be prosecuted’. A bell or intercom at the gate to keep unsavoury types even walking on the drive to call on the house. Now we have that step further. Gated communities. A number of houses, probably as equally ‘protected’ as the above example, all further safe-guarded by a community security gate surrounding their select properties.
Only fifty years ago, most folk went out and didn’t even bother locking their doors. Most people now lock all their doors even if they are in. Gated communities. Can you bear to imagine if this trend continues? Well, we’ll all have identity cards soon, maybe we can develop a swipe system which will determine where we are and where we are not allowed to go. A whole new class system could arise, based loosely on the old but more pronounced. Why, we 187
need never mix with people we deem unfit ever again.
What a wonderful world that would be. Sorry, off on a tangent again.
Back to ‘gated communities’. I’m not sure why they are termed this at all. The do not fit my idea of a community because surely that involves a degree of integrating with one another not shutting yourself off.
I would imagine the people who live or desire to live in such a place would welcome shutting him or herself off from the neighbours as much as ‘outsiders’ – see the language even I am using now. It hardly seems an appropriate environment for knocking on your neighbour’s door to ask for a cup of sugar. You’d be at the police station being interrogated before you knew it. You explain your intentions were good, you only wanted a cup of tea. Mind you with 24 hour shops open, the need to ask no longer needs to be an option.
As a nation we seem to becoming more and more fearful of our fellow man. We do not trust anyone. We are paranoid and encouraged to be so. Let’s just hope we don’t start selling guns at the supermarket as they do in America or that paranoia may just be the root of a much more serious problem. We see the effects of snowballing situations all the time but not many pay much attention until it is out of control. We feel there is much more crime than there used to be. Not true.
There is just a lot more media than there used to be.
Nobody is advocating that there should be less media.
Well, there are but they rarely get heard. It’s a kind of brainwashing. Be afraid, be very afraid ….because that way you are a lot easy to be taken advantage of by those who claim to know what’s best for you.
Don’t buy it. The world is a lot safer than you think.
Obviously, don’t go running around naked in the middle of the night or put a sign on your door that says ‘I’ve gone out and my door is unlocked’ but have 188
a bit more faith in the people you share the planet with. Most of them are as scared as you are.
I know I often say I hate people. I don’t really. What I hate is what their perception of the world is doing to them and those around them.