A new poll by the Cato Institute shows that younger Americans have startling views on allowing government surveillance into every area of life. About 30% of Generation Z (under age 30) said they support allowing government cameras into every home, thereby allowing the government to spy on all people at all times. While most Americans still don’t feel that way (thankfully), the Cato Institute notes that it is an alarming trend regarding the growing loss of our freedoms.
The Institute surveyed 2,000 people and asked the question, “Would you favor or oppose the government installing surveillance cameras in every household to reduce domestic violence, abuse, and other illegal activity?”
The good news is that 75% of Americans overall said “No” to inviting Big Brother into their bedrooms and bathrooms. Only 14% favored government surveillance in every house, and almost all of them were left-leaning members of Generation Z and were largely minorities.
Just 20% of Millennials (age 30 to 44) supported the idea, and the numbers fall off a cliff when they get to Generation X and older (45 and up). The Cato Institute interprets the numbers to mean that the youngest, most coddled generation of adults that we’ve had in many decades increasingly supports surrendering freedom and privacy for the illusion of added safety.
As Benjamin Franklin once famously wrote, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Education in this country has gotten so bad in recent decades that these findings are not surprising. Many Generation Z members wouldn’t recognize Ben Franklin if he stepped in the shower with him, and they certainly don’t understand why our liberties are so important. Fortunately, most Americans still say “No thanks” to the idea of having Big Brother watching their every move.
