One reasonable step

They said: “Don’t worry.” Nobody’s taking anything away. We just need to know your age. ...and perhaps your name. ...and maybe your face. Nothing to worry about. You understand. It’s for your safety. It’s only for your safety, it’s only for your name, it’s only for the children you’ve got nothing to explain. Just look into the camera, just prove that you are you. One reasonable measure then they’ll need another two. They put another checkpoint before you get your say Thirty arrests - mind your words, better phrase them the right way. But don’t call it censorship. No, no - that sounds extreme. We’re only making everybody safe enough to speak. One little check. One little file. One little freedom every once in a while. One little scan. One little gate. One reasonable step TO KEEP US SAFE! It’s only for your safety! It’s only for your name! It’s only for the children! It’s only for your face! One reasonable step at a time, one little freedom left behind. Show us your papers. Stand in your place WELCOME TO THE AGE OF SAFE! Delete another message. Flag another joke. Add another name for something someone wrote. Maybe it was satire. Maybe it crossed a line. Better let the system decide that every time. So verify the speaker. Verify the phone. Verify the bastard who would rather be unknown. Funny how a free society needs to know your face. Funny how your privacy keeps getting in the way. One little check. One little file. One little camera watching all the while. One little scan. One little gate. One reasonable step TO KEEP US SAFE! It’s only for your safety! It’s only for your name! It’s only for the children! It’s only for your face! One reasonable step at a time, one little freedom left behind. Give us your details. Know your place WELCOME TO THE AGE OF SAFE! Actually... Why stop there? If speech can be dangerous... and dangerous things should be stopped... well... I think the solution is obvious. Lock ’em up. LOCK ’EM UP! Lock up the poets! Lock up the punks! Lock up the kids who think too much! Lock up the left! Lock up the right! Lock up the bastard in the middle tonight! Lock up the loud! Lock up the shy! Lock up the bloke who just asked “Why?” Lock up the jokes! Lock up the memes! Lock up the people with inconvenient dreams! LOCK ’EM UP! LOCK ’EM UP! LOCK ’EM UP! LOCK ’EM UP! If everybody’s guilty EVERYBODY’S SAFE! If everybody’s guilty EVERYBODY’S SAFE! There we are. Problem solved. It’s only for your safety. For your safety. It’s only for the children. For the children. It’s only for your freedom. ...your freedom? Nothing to worry about. It’s for your safety.