In 1958 We Had Geodesists. Now we have - Google Maps??

I find old issues of Life magazine utterly fascinating.  They're archived in Google Books, you know. This article in Life May 12 1958 gives a look through time to the very beginning of a sensible, well thought out, US funded, ground mapping project intended to increase the military edge of our country and protect our citizens during difficult times. This military project matured over subsequent decades into today's GPS satellite system and morphed into, among other things, Google Maps.

Reading this, I found myself imagining being back in 1958 (Father Knows Best! Five and Dime stores! Bad, BAD, communism! Segregation, quiz shows, Marilyn Monroe, fresh foods in season, kids playing outside after school, Laura Petrie, homemade pies...you get it.) There is simply NO WAY I would imagine being able to predict the consequences of this humble and important project of mapping the physical world to protect our country's interests.

 In fact, I'd say it was a great project, essential to national security, and represented well-spent tax-dollars. In fact, in the context of 1958, I can't see any sensible way to NOT have done this project.

But the subsequent steps taken - obtaining this data began to be done using computers and satellites, not geodesists; GPS was invented, facilitating gathering information on land that grew to be gathering information in general; mapping became tracking, tracking became not only invasive and omnipresent, but secretive and malicious, endangering the underpinnings of our liberty itself which is privacy and individuality --  are destroying the Western world by increasingly controlling its citizens, and with that destruction goes all the progress of the Enlightenment, past and future.

My cheerful analysis - enjoy!

Love, 

Regina Roars