Use of Technology in Law Enforcement and Against Terrorism :: Technology Essays

Use of Technology in Law Enforcement and Against Terrorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technology has a definite impact not only on our everyday lives but also on the ideologies we pursue or abandon.   This change can be clearly seen as society has progressed through from an agrarian culture through the growing pains of the industrial revolution, and into the current wave, the information wave.   The role of technology was seen as a tool in the agrarian culture and also as a means for physical exploration of humanity's surroundings.   During the industrial revolution that tool, used to better the agrarian age morphed into a guiding force for social change, intellectual idealism, and scientific exploration.   As the industrial age drew to a close, marked by increased warfare and frightening new discoveries, there was a backlash against the ideological representation of technology.   Technology in the information age has become not only a force that produces wonderful new things, but ultimately a tool in the hands of a very flawed and occasiona lly noble society.   The current views on technology are diverse and cover grounds that span from technology being a way to save, to that same technology being a means to an end or power.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The personification of technology ranges from a way to place power firmly in the hands of the few, to technology being a means for anyone to do things that before required a specialized education.   The publishing liberty of the Internet creates a forum in which any one can be taken seriously; whether they are in truth serious is another discussion.   This liberty of forum is available to anyone with a modicum of knowledge or the desire to gain such knowledge.   This is in direct contrast to the publishing world where it requires a specialized knowledge and education to produce some thing or to become published.   Often the knowledge needs to be combined with a fair amount of luck as well.   Technology has also become a way to put social power into the hands of the few as well.   The existence of surveillance systems, the exorbitant prices of medical matters, and the existence of issues such as the digital divide are all exampl es of technologically based ways to shift a balance of power in an arena.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As technology is always in a state of flux so are our society's attitudes regarding technology.   There is a definite polarization of issues in the field of