Security camera in park

"BEEP-beep-BEEP-beep-BEEP...Your picture has just been downloaded for security reasons. Enjoy the park...and have a nice day!"

That's the booming welcome you'll get if you visit Kansas City's Englewood Park in the Northland.

You'll receive that ominous greeting for simply being in motion within the range of a security camera and speaker mounted high in a tree near the upper parking lot.

I had the embarrassing experience of trying to explain the necessity for such an assault on privacy and civility to an astonished out-of-town visitor. Unfortunately, I was unable to offer a plausible explanation. I live nearby and visit the park often. To my knowledge, there have been neither terrorists nor criminal activity of any kind in the park. So I was at a total loss for an explanation.

Have our basic civil rights been gradually eroded to the point where we no longer even question such affronts?

This "Big Brother" device must be removed immediately.

Paul DeRanek
Kansas City