Both ends of my daily life are now enclosed by gates. Here at Chez Nichols West we live inside a gated community. We have to “badge” our way onto the grounds. While there is some feeling of security from this, it does beg the question: security from what?
At work there are also gates segregating the public parking from the employee parking. Not only do I have to badge my way onto the grounds, I have to badge my way past the exterior door to the building.
I’m not sure what it says that we now live our lives in secure facilities. The world is certainly a scarier place than I remember growing up, or even as a young adult out on my own. The building where I work has fairly comprehensive plans for situations that may require “locking down” access even further. That they’ve even thought of a plan for dealing with a “security incident” is perhaps a good thing, but it also a sign of the times.
The current administration would have you believe that their efforts are making the world a safer place for all of us. I’m not sure this is true. I know for certain that I wasn’t living behind bars four years ago when the current government was selected over our popular vote.
