Privacy Versus Security: An Either/Or Prospect?
©2016 Kari Carlisle
Our country is polarized, and I suspect it’s because most people see in black and white.
Religious vs. SecularPaleo vs. VeganLiberal vs. Conservative
I’ll admit I have occasionally found myself in a “my way or the highway” mindset. I’m right; you’re wrong. When it comes down do it, even being open-minded is an either/or prospect.
Open-minded vs. Close-Minded
Ultimately, I see myself on a constantly sliding scale, being open-minded enough to constantly take in and evaluate information and observations that lead to a decision making process to determine what I believe, how I act, what I say, what I eat and drink, where I shop, and with whom I associate.
Much has happened in recent years (and days) to raise the question in my mind – Privacy vs. Security. Can we have both? Or are they mutually exclusive?
On one hand, we have the desire for privacy, to be able to keep to ourselves and do our own things without fear of being examined, being judged. On the other hand, we have a need for security, to be protected against those who might do us harm. If we protect our desire for privacy, does that expose us to attack? If we protect our need for security, must we give up our privacy?
We live in unprecedented times. Hackers want to steal our identities and take our money, and terrorists want to blow us up. Gone are the days when we just needed to lock our doors, take a self-defense class and carry pepper spray. We are individually unable to truly defend ourselves against this new breed of those who might do us harm.
So if some of our privacy must be sacrificed for the sake of defeating hackers and terrorists, how much privacy can we reasonably expect to retain? When Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA collects data on private citizens, were you surprised? Were you upset? If so, were you more upset by the fact that the data was being collected or that is was being done secretly?
New technologies now make it even more difficult to maintain one’s privacy. Drones, artificial intelligence, satellites, cell phones, Wi-Fi, GPS, and probably a host of thermal and audio detection devices and who knows what else can be used to spy on the masses. Corporations, governments, and even some individuals want to learn more and more about us. Hello 1984. Orwell is undoubtedly turning in his grave.
This week it was confirmed by the State Department that Secretary of State Clinton violated policy by using a private email server. The reason, she claimed in an email, was that she didn’t want personal emails being exposed. She valued her privacy over security when it came to her email. We all want and expect that our emails won’t become public don’t we?
And yet, at the same time, we intentionally expose ourselves to the world by providing all kinds of personal information online. The internet has closed the gap between miles and at the same time contributed to the polarization of ideas and beliefs. Gone is meaningful conversation, replaced with pics and gifs with pithy sayings, designed to direct us to think or believe a certain way with no real evaluation of the facts and ramifications.
Where do you fall in the Privacy vs. Security scale? Is it an either/or prospect? Are you somewhere in the middle? Is there a factor I haven’t considered here? Please tell me in the comments. And let’s keep this civil – a meaningful conversation.
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www.readmota.com
To comment, scroll down and type in your comment. Under Comment As, you can select Anonymous or Name/URL (you don't need to enter a URL). Then hit Publish.
Our country is polarized, and I suspect it’s because most people see in black and white.
Religious vs. SecularPaleo vs. VeganLiberal vs. Conservative
I’ll admit I have occasionally found myself in a “my way or the highway” mindset. I’m right; you’re wrong. When it comes down do it, even being open-minded is an either/or prospect.
Open-minded vs. Close-Minded
Ultimately, I see myself on a constantly sliding scale, being open-minded enough to constantly take in and evaluate information and observations that lead to a decision making process to determine what I believe, how I act, what I say, what I eat and drink, where I shop, and with whom I associate.
Much has happened in recent years (and days) to raise the question in my mind – Privacy vs. Security. Can we have both? Or are they mutually exclusive?
On one hand, we have the desire for privacy, to be able to keep to ourselves and do our own things without fear of being examined, being judged. On the other hand, we have a need for security, to be protected against those who might do us harm. If we protect our desire for privacy, does that expose us to attack? If we protect our need for security, must we give up our privacy?
We live in unprecedented times. Hackers want to steal our identities and take our money, and terrorists want to blow us up. Gone are the days when we just needed to lock our doors, take a self-defense class and carry pepper spray. We are individually unable to truly defend ourselves against this new breed of those who might do us harm.
So if some of our privacy must be sacrificed for the sake of defeating hackers and terrorists, how much privacy can we reasonably expect to retain? When Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA collects data on private citizens, were you surprised? Were you upset? If so, were you more upset by the fact that the data was being collected or that is was being done secretly?
New technologies now make it even more difficult to maintain one’s privacy. Drones, artificial intelligence, satellites, cell phones, Wi-Fi, GPS, and probably a host of thermal and audio detection devices and who knows what else can be used to spy on the masses. Corporations, governments, and even some individuals want to learn more and more about us. Hello 1984. Orwell is undoubtedly turning in his grave.
This week it was confirmed by the State Department that Secretary of State Clinton violated policy by using a private email server. The reason, she claimed in an email, was that she didn’t want personal emails being exposed. She valued her privacy over security when it came to her email. We all want and expect that our emails won’t become public don’t we?
And yet, at the same time, we intentionally expose ourselves to the world by providing all kinds of personal information online. The internet has closed the gap between miles and at the same time contributed to the polarization of ideas and beliefs. Gone is meaningful conversation, replaced with pics and gifs with pithy sayings, designed to direct us to think or believe a certain way with no real evaluation of the facts and ramifications.
Where do you fall in the Privacy vs. Security scale? Is it an either/or prospect? Are you somewhere in the middle? Is there a factor I haven’t considered here? Please tell me in the comments. And let’s keep this civil – a meaningful conversation.
Sign up to receive the Apocalypse Observer Newsletter in your inbox
www.readmota.com
To comment, scroll down and type in your comment. Under Comment As, you can select Anonymous or Name/URL (you don't need to enter a URL). Then hit Publish.
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