Before the 19th century, the only way a person could attempt to be a part of public history was to make their mark through actions and speeches that others, (e.g. journalists) would record, or to create works of architecture, science, literature or art that would be in themselves a record of the creators actions and thoughts.
In terms of bringing undisclosed events into public history, there have been records of institutional or private nature since the days of papyrus. But to find and review such printed records would take the enthusiasm of a dedicated historian or fanatic, and thus tended to only come to the light of public history if they were of some research or celebratory interest. [add examples from library, dental, business, government, personal letters].
Since the invention of the photograph and gramophone people have been recorded in ways that capture details that would have been previously impossible. With each new innovation in recording and distribution technology our history has become more detailed and more public. With the film camera came the recording of live events. With audio tape came the ability to reproduce speech exactly as was originally heard. With the practice of mass audio and video duplication our libraries and retailers have been flooded with accessible multimedia records. With a quick walk and some searching assistance, the average metropolitan can listen to a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, view images of the first world war, or watch the 1936 Olympics in NAZI Berlin. Every piece of published and broadcast news is saved and organized by assorted institutions around the world. Our history is getting closer and closer to an objective record of events, and we are continually gaining potential to closely evaluate it.
Along come closed circuit video cameras, mass production of cameras, video and audio recorders, home duplication systems, and most importantly: the Internet. Now it is not only the major events that are recorded in explicit detail, but even the trivial, unnoticed and mundane. For example: the majority of all visible activities in public metropolitan UK are recorded for security purposes. Tourists take pictures and home movies of inconsequential happenings. Online chats, emails, list messages, web board postings and logs keep detailed record of discussions and activities millions of people do everyday.
Along with the recording of insignificant activities, there will continue to be more recordings of dramatic importance. Home movies that become international records (such as Rodney King, [others?]) Video activists that catch what the mainstream media miss. The duplication and forwarding of discovered emails, postings and internal memos make public record of what was intended to be secret dealings. In effect, our digital technologies are bringing us much closer to understanding our reality [Better wording?].
As more people go online and as archiving systems grow, our idea of history will deeply change. [...add more here?]
With the sophistication of creatives and technology there also opens the possibility of realistic yet virtual records. Forged emails, photos of events that never took place and videos of actions that are impossible. One only has to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster to recognize the potential for fabricated historical records.
But this falsifying potential for creative technology can be outweighed by the distribution of recording technology. A multitude of sources will be a tool for discovering fake records. By comparing the continuity of different detailed records surrounding an event, we can make better judgments of what actually took place. With many views of a common happening, we can better understand what has taken place, whom and how people have been affected, and what views are simply impossible, and thus fabrications. The diversity of comprehensive perspectives will bring us much closer to an objective history then any history of the past.
Honesty, truth and enlightenment.
As it becomes more difficult to deny one’s recorded actions, we will be forced to be honest with the public. As we reevaluate our past, we will slowly piece together and recognize a narrative that comes much closer to truth, and from this truth an understanding of our world that be enlightened.
It may sound strange to be so optimistic about mass surveillance systems, but understand this faith is not in the technology, but in people. While cameras in the streets and shops may decrease crimes committed by average citizens, videos by street activists also improve the ethics of police. The tapping of phone calls is a weapon against terrorism, and the leaking and distribution of business emails is a defense against corporations that cause harm. As citizens aim their cameras back on the establishment, we will begin to shift our perceptions away from the established view, towards a more common reality.
The objective recording of history is beneficial to those who have been injured and oppressed by lies and secrecy. It is not the act of surveillance that we should fear, it is the one-way direction of that surveillance that is suspect. Cameras in the street do nothing to protect us from corporate crime and government corruption. Why should we accept the recording of our daily activities online, at work, in public, in commercial spaces and possibly even in our homes, when the most influential people in business and government secretly partake in their daily activities that influence our lives? Sure, there is a camera in the House of Commons, but what about the other thousands of rooms and offices in Parliament? Does a CEO’s email get monitored like he monitors his employees? Does anyone wiretap the CIA?
This is not a call for believing all conspiracy theories, only that by seeking more information we can discover which theories hold more truth then others. Conspiracy does exist, the question is how and by whom. Maybe not aliens, but probably between those with lots to gain and lots to lose. The retention of power between peers is not such an unlikely conspiracy theory that it should be ignored. [examples?]
The only hope people of a mass community have for long term and well-resourced positive social change is through our system of government. Business will work in whatever environment it is placed, but it will not regulate itself beyond its own interests. Citizens have power in our collective actions, but without proper funding, regulatory control, and institutional support (e.g. law, education) this power is weak and constantly struggling to build what should be regular practices. The battle for social change will be won on paper. It not the protesting that improves a society, it is the new humane policies put into practice by government that are cause for celebration. This does not mean we should not protest, only that we must understand that protesting is only a means (one of many) for achieving a much more important goal of political change. If you believe in collective action, then you must realize that government is the closest we get to a common collective. We may not like our current government and its practices, but without government we are fragmented and isolated from the systems that make up our complex society. It is not the idea of government one should despise; it is the lack of democratic practice and inefficient action that is our real frustration. Do not ignore government; change it!
There are many aspects of government that need to be changed, but for this paper the focus is on surveillance and secrecy. We the honest people of society must demand transparency and accountability of our political system. This does not simply mean the logging of minutes in the commons or the release of a few reports ahead of schedule. We need the publication of all political activities and complete explanations for all decisions made. This means the release of minutes from all discussions that politician partake, both online and offline. The expense would be no more then the hourly wage of a trained stenotypist for every MP. Independent journalists could also be paid to monitor the workings of government offices. All recorded information could be instantly and easily posted publicly online where any variety of students, academics, journalists and general enthusiasts could browse, search and write concise explanations of why decisions were made and publicize any contentious activities. The price tag would be negligible compared to the salaries of MPs. The effect it would have on our political system would be priceless.
As radical as this may sound, we already practice a detailed system of monitoring and publishing in our courts of law, and in aspects of our policing. Public record promotes accountability and there is no reasonable excuse to not maximize government accountability, especially where there is no significant decrease in productive efficiency.
One may argue that such a system would impede on the government employees privacy, but to this we can say what any boss can say to their employee, “if you don’t like the rules, you can quite”. We can be sure that there are many other bright and talented individuals in our world who would not be so ashamed to have their emails read, especially considering the retirement pension. The word “honest politician” does not have to be an oxymoron.
Such a simple yet powerful system would be a start to improving general accountability. The next step of changing the secretive practices of businesses would requires strong legislative action - no amount of protest will get any CEOs to publish their Outboxes. The opening up of government to public scrutiny would be a first step towards empowering our politician to create such legislation. In the process will be many battles over property and private rights. But this is to be expected throughout the disintegration of capitalism.
It is easy to say that every citizen will gain from a more open and accountable government, but let us go further. Visible minorities will become aware of racist values exchanged by politicians. Feminists will be able to monitor sexist activities. The anti-global-capitalism movement can identify the lobbying and free market agenda at work between business and state. Parents can understand what decisions were and were not made with children’s best interest in mind. The poor can hear about how they are continually ignored as an issue to be addressed by the government. In general, the faults of our system of government and the corruption within it will become more visible and thus addressable through surveillance of the government.
The modern movement for improving historical objectivity, and thus accountability of power, has already begun with independent journalism, video activism, memo-leakage and other such acts of public record. The movement can be formalized through discussion and documentation of goals and plans for action. Through collaboration between educated, informed and organized citizens, we can formalize this idea in to an official campaign that directly confronts the government through publication, law, protest and debate. We will use what little of a democracy we have to build a better democracy.
There is tiny minority of people who have large invested interests in retaining the current system of private communication within systems of power. These elites make decisions daily about how to retain their excessive wealth, how to increase their income, and how to keep others from noticing. The more citizens learn about their own exploitation, the less appt they are to willing support the system that maintains it. If we want to take action against the elites who use their power for selfish interests, then we must prove that this oppression really exists. Justice will be served by those who understand the truth.
Let us publish the truth. Find the documents, the messages, the emails, the reports, the research, the statistics, the detailed reality of our situation and publish it. If you work within a system of power, share what you know. If you know a person with inside information, ask for it. If you find messages that are pertinent to this issue, conceptualize them and make them available to the public. Our biggest allies are in journalism, law, research, politics, big business, government and especially PR and corporate communications. We are already inside enemy territory; it is time to practice espionage.
We should start with government because it is in this arena that we will find the most support. We must seek to find when politicians have acted against public interest and demonstrate the need for internal political communication reform. A case for publishing all politicians discourse will be made based on proof that justice is increasingly served with each private message published.
We must work hard to stay within the confines of law so not to lose support from the institutions that empower us. Politicians do not fear criminals or protesters a fraction of what they fear lawyers. We have little power in the streets or behind bars, but equal opportunity in the court of law.
A simple introduction may be to work with political historians to examine and understand the decisions made in the past that have come to light through the expiration of confidentiality clauses. Documents that were once locked in vaults are now available at the library. If we can prove the injustice and corruption was practiced some years ago, there is a stronger argument that it is being practiced now.
We should look for patterns to discover where sources of malpractice originate. We should investigate when peculiarities arise. We should aggregate the many bits of information we acquire, publishing and sharing all the while. We should seek out and support sources of new information. We should work hard to seek all progressive and non-violent methods of enlightening each other about the people that use their power against us.
This document is not a call to arms; it is a call to minds. We will change the world not with our fits, but with our eyes, our ears and our words. We must tell each other what we know, work together to understand where we are, and make decisions that change the situation to benefit all.
We are at home, in school, at work and in court. We are open to the public because we are the public. We are citizens for a just society, and we will achieve our aims.
- Jason Diceman -
January 2002