That Burning Smell is Me Thinking…

According to the Oxford American Dictionary, privacy is, “the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people; the state of being free from public attention.” With cameras everywhere watching us, databases holding information about us proliferating, and governments listening to our telephone conversations and reading our email without our consent, we live in a time where there is no more privacy, according to the dictionary definition. Our every move can be observed and scrutinized by a group of mysterious watchers for many reasons. We have accepted more surveillance in order to feel safe and minimize property crime. Corporations keep track of our consumer behavior, at the expense of our privacy, so they can market their goods and services more effectively.

When people go to the grocery store, they are being watched from the moment they enter the parking lot until they leave. The cameras are there not only to prevent shoplifting, but to allow marketing people to observe customer’s movements so they can determine how to more effectively arrange the store in order to persuade the consumers to buy more stuff. If the consumer pays with a debit or credit card, the store can keep track of how often they visit, what they buy and whether or not they use the store’s discount card. The government can subpoena the store to find out if anyone is buying combinations of certain household items that can be used to make a bomb, or find out who bought a copy of a subversive magazine they planted on the rack.

Anyone’s movements can be tracked through security cameras, debit card transactions, mobile phone records, electronic toll tags, email logs, or plain old fashioned stalking. In the movie Enemy of the State, Richard Dean, played by Will Smith, is hunted by the NSA using sophisticated technology. It seems like a Hollywood fantasy, but those with access can abuse surveillance technology in the same way. If the government decides that you are their enemy, then they can freeze your assets, and find you very easily by pinging your cell phone.

The only way to achieve the state of complete privacy is to live in a remote location, severely limit contact with other humans, and not engage in activities that would attract too much attention. But humans are social animals by nature, so complete privacy is not possible if one decides to interact with others. As people engage more with society, they must sacrifice a little more privacy until the last area of complete personal privacy is ones own thoughts.

Everyone, from a hermit who lives in the woods to the President of the United States, has a private and a public life. The extent of a hermit’s public life may be rare glimpses as he is chopping firewood or shooting a squirrel for dinner. President Bush, on the other hand, seems to live under the watchful eye of anyone in the world who cares to observe. Most people would think that the hermit has more privacy than the president, but the hermit may have less due to the fact that he doesn’t have a team of people carefully crafting his public image and guarding his personal information. With a little persistence, one could gather enough personal information about the hermit to find out where he went to school, what his ex-wife’s name is, or how much much money he makes each year. A little more digging can reveal what movies he likes to watch and what magazines he reads. Meanwhile, our president has the capability to practically disappear, and re-emerge serving Thanksgiving dinner in Iraq, thanks to the diligent work of his staff and the Secret Service to keep his movements secret.

Whatever is written down, entered into a computer or spoken is no longer private. As long as there is ubiquitous surveillance technology and invasive law enforcement, there will be no privacy. As long as people are suspicious of one another and live in fear, privacy will continue to erode until we are all forced to live completely transparent lives. The only way to take back our freedom is to turn the cameras around and watch the watchers.

I have been trying to write a book review for my history class. I was distracted all day and I decided to go to the 24 hour Starbucks in order to minimize the distractions. As I settled into my work, I started feeling queasy. I barely got two paragraphs typed when I felt a dreadful stirring in my gut and a cold sweat developing on my forehead. That could mean only one thing; pack up my stuff and get to the restroom, NOW! I was lucky there was an open restroom, the place was packed. I was barely able to get the door locked when I erupted in the most spectacular Technicolor yawn, I didn’t even have time to put down my backpack! I couldn’t believe my aim was so good, and thank God the seat was already up!

It just kept coming. I was seeing everything I ate that evening, and I was in total disbelief of my condition. I am so glad I had the presence of mind to get to the bathroom when I did. I must have looked like a mad man packing up my stuff in a panic and rushing off to the restroom. In my rush to get to the toilet I dropped my coffee, that I took barely three sips from, in the trash.

I finally regained my composure and went to the register and bought one of their overpriced tins of gum to combat the wretched taste in my mouth. I popped two pieces in my mouth and left quickly. As I was walking down the sidewalk, I first felt like I wasted my time coming all the way down here only to get sick. I started to feel better and decided to duck inside a diner instead of getting on the bus that just pulled up, that’s where I am typing this. After an English muffin and a diet Coke, I feel better. I got another paragraph written and now have a direction for my paper, so the trip was not completely wasted.