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| Only one thing he can be doing with a laptop whilst licking his lips... |
News of the NSA's numerous exploits have reached every corner of the globe by now, and it is very evident that the United States' reach is indeed global and all inclusive. So far is seems as if no one is being spared scrutiny under this new regime of data collection and information overload. Politically inclined nationals, buzz-word toting house wives, big business leaders and anyone else who over the course of a few years googled the wrong series of letters. It matters little when we are told "limited information is being gathered" or even "you have nothing to be afraid of if you have nothing to hide". The fact of the matter is, that our rights to privacy are slowly but surely being chipped away at. What is the next step? How much longer before the very act of attempting to stay anonymous online in turn makes you a target in the eyes of our very government? I have a sick, inkling feeling in the pit of my stomach that a few years down the road, maybe 10, maybe 20, that going into "incognito mode" or using a proxy server to surf the web will be the same as admission of guilt in the eyes of the NSA. "What is he doing? Why doesn't he want people to know?".
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| This becomes you as soon as you want to keep your privacy. |
Moreover, while I personally have nothing to hide, I find it very distressing to know that regardless of my activity online and on the phone, information on me is being collected. And not just collected, but stored, mined, queried, cross matched and verified all before being cataloged. It is certainly not comforting to know that despite having never committed a crime, I already have a record. Who is to say that information collected on me cannot be used against me at a later date? Who is to say that this very blog post, as innocent as it may be (I just want my A in this class), will not be held against me years from now. "He conspired against the security of our great nation" they may say, while I stand, accused, in front of all the world to see. What are the alternatives? A dystopian future where identities are more closely guarded than anything else? And how long before your attempts at keeping your private affairs private in fact draw the attention and gaze of the ever vigilant Agency?
2 comments:
I couldn't have put it better than Mr. Pinion did here. While I admittedly resign to the fact that my data is being collected and catalogued and I protest that fact very infrequently (I like having an iPhone way too much), it does cause my hairs to raise on end when I imagine the possibility that all of that data could be held against me in the future—for whatever cause. We have a right to privacy, and I think it's horribly sad that we can't enjoy the benefits of having the Internet and cool gadgets without signing our names in blood and accepting the terms of having our every action recorded.
But it's not only about the gadgets. It's in human nature to feel a little creeped out when you know you're being spied on. This is supposed to be a country of freedom. We should be able to do what we want (within reason) without feeling like there's a Grand Overseer watching our every move. I think the government has crossed the threshold of necessary prying. True, the data analysis may be useful for preventing crimes from taking place, but there's a certain limit to divination that we as humans should just accept. Perhaps we should make an amendment for fixing our nation's "Cruel and Unusual Peeping Problem."
I also agree with Pinion on here too. Having privacy is pretty much the one of the free things in life nowadays, and people tend to have their sense of freedom threatened as to being online. Also think about today where children ages four and up are getting Facebook? With every generation electronic devices increase and is replacing all the small things that we do in life. Writing reviews online for yelp? Saying something wrong could be used against you when applying for a career. Everything you post on Facebook is locked down FOREVER even if deleted, so when young kids go on Facebook not thinking about the consequences, there is a possibility that it can be used against them later on when applying for big major colleges. It’s true that they are only trying to prevent crimes, but is going all the way that necessary? Because I don’t think you need to record what my little brother has to say about new Legos or whatever it is that seven-year-old boys talk about.
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