Book review: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

This was written in 2008, in a U.S. where a Department of Homeland Security has turned on Americans in the name of security following a terrorist attack. And as its focus and energy was on keeping Americans in line, it created opposition in the form of people who wanted to go about their lives and do so without surveillance. And in this, the protagonists are teenager who were caught up in a dragnet while playing games. I was in a group that had a conversation about computer privacy recently, and someone expressed a belief that everyone in positions of power was supportive of encryption and privacy. But I remember the days when governments actively opposed the spread of good encryption, even for businesses who wanted to be able to secure discussions and transfer of payments. The technology issues brought up here I still remember, and I recognize a lot of the debates and issues, the opposition to encryption, the desire to do mass tracking and surveillance through cameras and electronic devices. And the technology and social methods that the kids in the book used I recognize from those that were used in real life (which fits the author's purpose). But the real question here is what does being an American mean? One scene involved the review of the Declaration of Independence and what it means, all the while comparing the grievances expressed in the Declaration of Independence to the fictionalized Department of Homeland Security. The kids are not a White Rose brought to present day. They are not philosophical about morality and righteousness. They only want to live their lives as they see fit, and for their friends to be able to do the same, because they recognize that if the right to live as they please is refused to some, it is refused to all. So they act in ways that provide the freedom action they want to everyone. In contrast, the purpose of those who are demonstrating power is purely to be able to exercise power and limit the ability of others to live their lives. Another side note. Power for its own sake becomes incompetent. Free creativity creates its own quality. The kids in their creativity create technical solutions outpacing the Department of Homeland Security, who only knows power and cruelty. The kids are not super technologists. They peripherally encounter older protagonists who can do what the kids do, but better. And because they are focused, the older counterparts are quieter and more effective. But this story is about the kids. This is not a tech-savvy version of White Rose. The kids are not portrayed as idealistic saints. They are kids, who want to live freely and create space for others to do so as well. Which is a very real way what the Declaration of Independence proclaims.