A Question of Privacy

We have heard too many public discussions about the issue of privacy. We have heard seemingly intelligent people expressing outrage over recent revelations that our country’s spy agency is spying. They are spying, in part, by obtaining telephone and email data on American citizens right here on American soil. The billions of bits of data involve phone numbers, dates of calls and their duration as well as email connections made at certain times and dates. No one has suggested that the phone calls or emails’ contents were ever involved.  A recent in depth study found there to have been no known abuses. And yet some still cite the Fourth Amendment which forbids unlawful search and seizure.

I find it very hard to consider what they are doing at NSA a violation of the Fourth just as I don’t see how requiring guns buyers at gun shows to pass background checks or limiting the kind of weapons citizens can buy to defend themselves, prohibiting weapons like tanks, guided missile systems. atomic bombs and assault weapons, would be a violation the the Second Amendment.

I think both are fine examples of demagoguery.

So what constitutes an invasion of privacy?

I think having our medical or financial records made public would be a serious invasion. And stealing our identity for fun and profit is perhaps the most egregious trespass.

I think having naked or otherwise embarrassing pictures of ourselves distributed without our approval another.

I would consider having my private conversations made public or having my personal emails read aloud to a group people not considered admirers to be in this category.

Most of us would rather have privacy while having sex, some wanting complete privacy, with some couples insisting on separate bedrooms. The same with our time spent eliminating our waste products.

Also private thoughts and feelings are usually intended to remain so.

But what about our picture, should that be private? Should people not see you? Corporations and government agencies are working to produce a facial recognition system. The system would recognize each of us and produce advertising that would be best suit us individually. The system could track us as we shop at the mall and put up ads just for us. Will this be an invasion of privacy? Shouldn't this system be used only on people accused of shopping too little thus depriving our struggling economy?

It is now easy to find people we have been looking for, to find out where they live, how long they have been there, how much they paid for their home and how much it is currently worth. If you are willing to pay a few dollars, you can also find out how much the person owes on the mortgage, how much he claimed to earn, whether he has been arrested or married or divorced.We can also find out if and when a person entered the country by plane or board and even all the people who were on the same journey.

Should all that information be private?

A person in law enforcement could see your license plate and run it to find your name, address, birth date, aliases, height and weight as well as your picture. The person can then check to see if you own a gun, have ever been arrested and so on. Is that an invasion of privacy even if it is well supervised?

When we donate to a charity we start getting requests from every similar fund. If we give to an environmental group, we will hear from every other one. How does that happen? Is our privacy being violated?

When we go online, we see ads to the side of most entries. They are targeted at us specifically. How does that happen? Is our privacy being invaded?

What about when people listen in on our cell phone calls because we speak loudly in their close proximity and sometimes even have them on speaker phone so both sides of the conversation can be overheard? Is that yet another violation of our privacy? If so, why do we make it so easy for them?

Are our names, addresses and phone numbers private? If yes, then why do we have to pay extra to have them not made public by the phone company?

Can we keep this specific blog just between you and me? Surely, I am entitled to some privacy. That's why I write a blog.