My recent trip to Dungeness Spit was nearly idyllic except for a couple of moments. As we were walking along the beach listening to the sound of waves lapping the shore, I heard a funny “buzzing” sound and could not figure where it was coming from since I could not see anyone in sight. Finally, I looked up and saw what I thought was a small airplane flying overhead. Leslie said “drone,” but at first I didn’t believe her.
She was right, a drone was following us, or at least the shoreline as we walked. I didn’t mind that as much as I would have minded a helicopter flying low overhead, but it still creeped me out.
It wasn’t long before a Coast Guard boat came around the point, going somewhere at full blast.
Perhaps I should be reassured our government is so vigilant. I’m not. Combined with recent stories of Homeland Security clashes with locals in Forks and nearby areas, I wonder if this heightened security is either good or necessary.
Leslie worries that the government knows of threats that would justify these measures but won’t tell the public because we might become too worried. I worry we’re quickly becoming a police state where our every move is monitored out of fear that we might “step out of line.” And more and more, I feel like “stepping out of line” to save some small part of this planet for my grandkids and great grandkids.
Most of all, I worry I might have something in common in with the Right Wing crazies that I despise.