If You Stand Up and Fight for One Thing Let it be This
Imagine living in a totalitarian world where every thought, action and step were monitored by the state. Picture a society where the government could choose your friends and harshly punish you if they decide your behavior is impure or unpatriotic.
Well, you don’t have to imagine this dystopian universe because, to some degree, it is already happening in China. Under Xi Jinping’s oppressive leadership, the country expanded use of the WeChat smart phone app. Users can text, make voice or video calls, read news, play games, pay bills, book taxis and doctors’ appointments, transfer money, and even access government services.
The app works by collecting extraordinary amounts of personal data on users’, including whereabouts, financial activity, social connections, and habits—which are all closely monitored by the Chinese Communist Party.
A Monmouth University article, The Dark Side of WeChat, concluded, “leaving WeChat means leaving [social] life in China.”
Initially, the app had a system that gave people a financial credit score. In 2014, the State Council expanded it to include a “social credit score”. If the government disapproves of your behavior, it deducts points. If you lose enough points you end up on a blacklist.
The program’s slogan is downright chilling: “Allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step.” In other words, the state can destroy you at any moment of its choosing and you have no recourse.
The question begs, could the United States be next? Andra Watkins, a New York Times best-selling author and survivor of Christian Nationalism, says it’s a distinct possibility.
This article is deeply unsettling. The idea of a social credit system monitoring every aspect of life is a chilling reminder of the dangers of unchecked government power. It’s a stark warning we shouldn’t ignore.