Deep in the Big Brother woods

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? That philosophical riddle has long stirred debate -- though it shouldn't (see the correct answer at the end of this editorial). But other vexing questions were raised by a story on the front page of Tuesday's Post and Courier, which revealed that if a tree falls in the Francis Marion National Forest, somebody at a government agency just might see it.

As Tony Bartelme reported, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said a surveillance camera discovered by a local man in the Francis Marion last month was part of a law enforcement investigation. Though she declined to offer many specifics, she said such cameras have been used for "numerous years" for the protection of both the public and the forest. She added that images of people who are not targets of investigations are "not kept."

Charleston attorney Tim Kulp found those answers insufficient and raised this overriding question to our reporter: "What's the goal here?"

If the goal is to deliver another chilling reminder that somebody in authority might be watching you, even when you're way out in the woods, mission accomplished.

As for that tree falling in the forest, of course it makes a sound when it hits the ground -- whether or not any humans (including government employees monitoring whatever's going on in the great outdoors) are around to hear it.