The Myth of Privacy
TimeWatch Editorial
April 15, 2016
Stewart Wolpin says that even though guarding the innermost secrets of our data lives, is both laudable and necessary, this business of maintaining and protecting our privacy is “as pointless and ludicrous as building a sand castle to protect us against a tidal wave.” Stewart was writing for the Huffington Post on March 30, 2014 on the subject “Why Privacy is a 20th Century Myth.” He continues:
“Once upon a time in our past, we could wander about the country with anonymous ease. This identity freedom, while not exactly spelled out in the Constitution, is a cornerstone of our national political philosophy. But then, thanks to phone directories, driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers, credit cards and cable TV, “they” knew our name, our phone number, where we lived and what clunker we put ourselves into hock to drive, who we called and when, what we watched on TV, how much money we have, and how and where we spend it.” Stewart Wolpin, the Huffington Post, “Why Privacy is a 20th Century Myth”
You are of course aware of all of this, even though you probably do not take any of it seriously enough to adjust your lifestyle. Wolpin goes even further in his description of the present situation. He makes the point that with the advent of the internet and the supposed conveniences there provided, we now have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who facilitates our daily connection to the internet, tracks and records our website searches, tracks and records those to whom we send or from whom we receive emails, and the contents of those correspondences.
“Each time we go to a Web page, perform a search, make a purchase, fill in our email address, use our smartphone for calling, texting, emailing or checking out local traffic or finding a nearby restaurant, that data is recorded by someone someplace, with varying levels of impersonal, benign or malignant intentions.” Stewart Wolpin, the Huffington Post, “Why Privacy is a 20th Century Myth”
What is most disturbing about Stewart Wolpin’s article is not the information that he presents, for he has simply scratched the surface of the situation that exists today. He has not even touched the use of private security systems, sold as a means of protecting and guarding the home and its precincts. These systems are themselves an invasion of privacy that is continuous. Neither has he touched the concept of protecting our identity using a company that “monitors” your accounts and every possible action you engage in.
What is most disturbing is that we do not seem to care. None of this seems to trouble the majority of us. The concept of privacy has indeed been made a myth in our minds. We state emphatically that we have nothing to hide, because “we are not doing anything wrong.” Our brains have been washed. We have reached the place where we can have a discussion about this very situation, and make absolutely no adjustment whatsoever in any part of our lives. The inevitability of enslavement has been scorched into our subconscious. We have surrendered the last vestige of our individuality; In fact we do not even in the slightest way, rebel against the controlling environment, but fall in line, assisting the powers to cajole others.
The genius of evil is obviously at play here for the invasion of these elements of control reaches far beyond the walls of regimental obedience. It grasps hold of the conscience, that final frontier of freedom, removing the boundaries of independence, creating a robot like response to every command. The assault upon the conscience is perhaps an unexpected avenue of approach, when dealing with the matter of religious freedom. It is however by far a most effective means of weakening the muscles and joints of the mind before the final battering is carried out. Perhaps it is time for us to begin the exercise of the true locking of our identities, in anticipation of the soon occurring invasion.
Cameron A. Bowen
