I have a globe next to my bed. It is a standard scholastic globe with blue water, multicolored countries, and topographical mountain ranges. When I am reading a book, or following the news, I can instantly see where a nation lies, what countries border it, what water access it has, and what sphere of influence it resides under.
The world is an extremely complex place, with constantly shifting crises, in a perpetual state of war, hanging above chaos by a thread. And that thread is unraveling. One only has to look at the images coming out of Ukraine to see the reality of this.
If you know anything about Ukraine, you know that between a corrupt, repressive government, pressure from Russia, and the violence of the Russian mobs, the Ukrainian people must be pretty fed up.
But then, during the height of the unrest, the protesters received this ominous message on their cellphones:
“Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”
The threat, although left unspoken, is loud and clear. You are now on the List. But perhaps even more chilling to the human spirit is that now the very technology that was touted as the route to education, enlightenment, and equality - namely, smartphones, tablets, and the Internet - can now be used by governments as instruments of oppression.
The NY Times reports that the "Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cell phones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters." Just having a cellphone with you, and being "near" a confrontation makes you a target for the regime's retribution.
The implications of this tactic are Orwellian, and only too ripe for use here at home. We already know that our government routinely uses IRS audits, SWAT raids, and indefinite detention to quell dissent.
And par for the course, the mainstream media is not covering the true nature and scope of the turmoil, nor the consequences of such violations to our basic civil rights.
Next week the eyes of the planet will be focused on Sochi. How the Olympics will play out against a backdrop of tyranny and violence is anyone's guess.
I will be among those watching, and I will be rooting for the athletes, and for freedom.
Just type Ukrainian protests into your browser for 100's of images
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