Drones perusing our neighborhoods
Who's watching the watchers?
A human interest post:
I'd like to personally thank whomever invented drone technology and then made it available to the general public. (No, not really.) Admittedly they are great for capturing real-time video of public outdoor venues and scenery that looks really cool from the air, but when they do a buzz-by over your house, it's a different experience altogether. I've always said that life requires a healthy balance of all things. I now present a potentially unhealthy imbalance.
One day in the not so distant past I was minding my own business whilst washing both cars outdoors at my residential home. There I was scrubbing away and breaking a sweat when all of a sudden I hear what sounded like a swarm of bees. Well, that can't be, I thought...or at least hoped it wasn’t. I looked up and fixed my blue eyes on the origin of the noise. Presto, there it was! A ominous looking four prop drone buzzing relentlessly 50 yards or so over my head. Granted we live in a relatively populated neighborhood so I did not think this altogether unusual. But then suddenly it stopped directly overhead, hovering as it paused. It was loud enough to be annoying and stuck around long enough to be concerning. Without warning it suddenly returned on the exact trajectory it had arrived. A nosy neighbor perhaps or?
Inevitably, my mind begins to wander in thought. Thoughts like if it comes again, how can I get this annoying, invasive thing out of the sky? Can I throw things at it? Can I shoot water at it? A BB gun maybe? None of the above. Back to washing my car.
Even a toy drone with an high-def camera scrambles our sense of property and privacy rights. What constitutes a reasonable expectation of privacy anyway? There have been a multitude of recent stories of close calls between airplanes and various types of drones within their flight path. Does that concern you? It should, especially if you’re aboard that particular flight. Did you know drone strikes are actually more damaging than bird strikes?
Unfortunately like most abrogations of privacy rights, a public outcry to impose restrictions often comes too little, too late. It is true that Google Maps already has high definition photos of our private property right down to our favorite deck chairs. But this is much more intrusive and potentially much more dangerous. There are regulations for owning, registering, and using drones, but we all know not everyone follows the rules.
Pandora's Box has already been opened to the swift dissemination of our private information across the web for all the interested world to see, with intermittent dubious intentions. Oh, and if your wondering what's next, just Google "F-35 x-ray vision" and "infrared detection devices" which will most likely become drone add-ons in the future. I suppose very soon window shades will become rather impracticable.
As far as someone watching over my household, I’ve already got that covered: The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalms 121:5-8
Jim
Further reading here:
Jim, I like your ending. We have no better watchman than the Lord Himself.
In a similar vein, I have long taken comfort that the Lord is also our best Consumer Protector. We wouldn't need the Department of Consumer Protection and the scads of money to fund it if people knew God, who sees the sparrow, also has eyes on them. People may cheat or steal and think they are getting away with it, but the Lord knows. He is our keeper, defender, and refuge. Even from drones.
Air rifles.
Just sayin.