Security in Exchange for Privacy: A Dangerous Bargain?

Safety is a necessity and what everyone craves in this world full of chaos and unrest. Given the amount of tax the government bills citizens, I believe it's their responsibility to give us adequate security that'll bring about a safe and peaceful society and world at large. Unfortunately, that isn't the case because despite the taxes and the revenue procured for the security of the nation, we still get to witness and learn of different unrest and chaos happening all around us. If the government were to propose giving them access to all of our privacy in exchange for concrete security, would I be willing to give in to such a proposal?

In all honesty, I don't really buy the ideal of government gaining access to my privacy just because they want to safeguard me. I mean, we've seen top world countries provide security for their citizens without them taking a glance into their privacy, so I don't think a government that can't, with the funds available, provide safety for citizens would be able to do that with access to my privacy. In fact, I feel like my data won't be safe again once someone else has access to it, and I know I'm not really alone even in my room. Knowing the nature of humans, there'll most likely be someone who's looking for how to use the opportunity they have in accessing people's privacy as an avenue to blackmail or extort citizens.

I understand the fact that the government having access to everyone's privacy would face tracking how they can contain violence, troubles, and disasters. But then, we must understand the fact that not all of our data are actually in safe hands as we speak; the government can easily access anything they want to access about you, either from your social media account, call, or internet service provider amongst many others. With this amount of information at the tips of their fingers, they aren't doing anything reasonable with it because we get to see terrorists, bandits, and the like show off on the internet and make demands, and yet our government hasn't been able to apprehend them.

This goes on to show that these issues of unrest, insecurity, and the like we're experiencing are the handiwork of some politicians trying to get back at their opponents, trying to chase people off their land so they can milk the resources that lie beneath the soil, amongst many others, and if that's the case, which I'm convinced it is, then them having unrestrained access to my data won't guarantee me safety; in fact, I believe it'll expose me to more danger, knowing fully well that they're bad eggs holding political offices, and I won't even be safe if I speak against a politician or government officials, knowing fully well that they can track my every move.

In conclusion, while I recognize the fact that uninterrupted access to my privacy can really ensure my safety more by a working government, still I won't be allowing such because I don't trust those in power and politics generally in my country to have the willingness to end insecurities because of what they stand to benefit from it and because of what damage some of such information can do to me if it's leaked or exposed to the wrong hands. So in a nutshell, the government should just find a way to ensure safety by employing more military personnel, giving them good weapons and salary, and positioning them in almost every location in every common.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.