LONDON - Ever since the attacks in Spain on the March 3, 2004, and the July 7 bombings on the London Underground, much of the political wrangling here in Britain has been about how best to protect the homeland. Inventions like biometric technology which imprints fingerprint and retinal data onto a microchip in your passport are now teamed up with old-standard precautions such as bomb sniffing dogs at every terminal entrance at Heathrow Airport. And with the growth of the "One London" campaign - the British equivalent to "I Heart NY More Than Ever" - in full swing, it seems that everyone here is about ready to slap on their union jacks, invade a Middle Eastern country and spread democracy abroad while squelching it at home with their new proposed terror prevention laws. You know, like we did.
Unlike in America, however, people here are somewhat wary about giving government the power to read library records and tapping phones with impunity in the name of fighting terrorism.
In a country where there are government-run religious schools and closed circuit TV cameras on every building - on a continent where the first ever reality-TV baby delivery aired just a few weeks ago, mind you - it seems a little more than odd to me that the British should be so worried about privacy rights. Britons seem more than happy to have government intervene in places where Americans would scarce let our government wander, so why should they stop them now?
More and more I hear other Londoners lamenting the fact that they feel like 10 Downing Street is putting a bit too much pressure on British MPs (members of Parliament) to pass Tony Blair's proposed new terror legislation. Like the Patriot Act, the new terror laws (which lack a great moniker) were proposed in response to the July terrorist bombings. They include provisions that expel groups that promote religious extremism, expel people from Britain who are found to be exciting terrorist fervor and give broader police powers to British forces.
Sounds reasonable at face value, so why is this such an issue?
Many Britons note that the new police powers hardly become a working democracy, and they see the debacle the Patriot Act has caused back in the United States as just another reason why the legislation should be quashed. But the fact of the matter is that, here in London, privacy is more of a privilege than a right. Ever since the July 7 bombings, the Metropolitan Police have beefed up security efforts, effectively making police officers as common as double-decker buses or fish and chip shops. You also can't go more than two minutes down the road without seeing another set of stealthily placed security cameras, and signs all over remind you that you are being watched 24 hours a day in certain places. It's no wonder that "Big Brother" is one of the most popular shows in the UK; he really is watching you here.
These are just a few of the ways that the British have delegated responsibilities to the government that, in America, would be deemed unconstitutional. Unless the religious right suddenly becomes the majority, we will never be around to see American state-run religious schools. Try as we might, the government will probably never get around to affording universal healthcare for its citizens. Oh, and there's that whole monarchy thing that they still have going on here.
Despite the affected accent I've been using since moving here, I am still an American, and one still living under the provisions of a horrid anti-terror bill. But regardless of that, I believe that the British do need to come up with a serious solution to solving their own issue with terrorism. Just because our government mucked it all up the first time doesn't mean that the UK won't learn from our mistakes or that Britons cannot be more careful in ensuring that their government doesn't overstep its boundaries. With certain Patriot Act provisions about to expire at the end of this year, and discussions on their renewal about to start in both the Senate and the House, perhaps the British should take stock in the fact that, although their privacy might be a bit violated, they've already done that plenty in other ways. Now is their chance to pass effective legislation, and maybe even one-up the United States in something besides cricket.
Adrian Muniz '07 knows the British don't spell "terror" with a "u."
