A question that I personally got from Doctorow’s book is one that if spent time dwelling on is a scary concept for me to grasp. It is a question I believe has multiple facets and will prompt more questions as opposed to concise answers. Nonetheless, I feel the question is one worth asking: Have the “terrorists” of modern society already won? In regards to “Little Brother”, the government, the DHS, even Marcus’s own principal Mr. Benson can be depicted as “terrorists” as they utilize technology to invade privacy in the name of security measures. But are for example, the gait recognition software and other “firewall” measures needed? Have such efforts caught any real terrorists? Or are these measures more of a mental cushion, meant to allow citizens and those in power the allusion that everything is under control when in reality they are not? I feel that in asking if the terrorists have already won is an important and uncomfortable question to think about, let alone answer. The book clearly illustrates how such “terrorist” attacks can lead to a paranoia and violation of rights such as privacy, ultimately leading to an internal clash between those who claim to protect and those who need protection.
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