Before 9/11, I was a kid without much insight or interest into the way the world works. As far as I could tell, and as far as what was told to me, I’d be pretty much free to live my life in whichever way I chose so long as I stuck within the law.
After 9/11, it was as if something shifted, and not only did governments and corporations ramp up their surveillance operations to watch almost every facet of the lives of everyday people, especially internet users, but individuals seemed to want to interfere in each other’s lives a hell of a lot more.
Now, maybe partly as a result of this, I no longer feel free to live as I choose. Social media and the growing politicisation of everything is quickly leading to a society of people that moralise and critique each other’s every decision. This is only made worse by the rise of ideologies which, by their nature, push everyone who uphold them into seeing people who think differently as an “other.”
Alongside the common tendency to form absolute character judgments about each other, this is giving rise to a nosey, shallow, hyper-controlling and vicious culture.
If you think what they don’t want you to think — if you put your kids in a school they don’t approve of — if you read, watch or listen to certain media — if you don’t chant a certain slogan or declare…
