Somewhere it was suggested that the level of privacy in a society is directly proportional to its level of civilisation. In a savage village, everything is public, everyone sees and knows everything about everyone else. When the level of civilisation rises, the privacy increases - when the level of privacy goes down, the civilisation is on its way down too. The one is always following the other. A theory, and as all theories it is a simplification; but it is thought provoking. Privacy is hardly held in high regard by contemporary society, so where does it stand in terms of civilisation? Not very high, indeed. If you want privacy today, you have to dedicate extra time, effort and money to achieve that. It certainly does not come easy. In many respects it is even outlawed.
What is privacy? To me total privacy would be that I control all information about myself and my life. That is to say, I disclose what I want, to whom I want, when I want - and there should be no other way to obtain information about me.
Do you need privacy? I would say yes, but ultimately that is a personal choice and it depends completely on your personality and your general view of life. To me it is a necessity, like eating, breathing, sleeping or reading - and I treat it accordingly.
"Privacy is not something that I'm merely entitled to, it's an absolute prerequisite."
(Marlon Brando)
Governments of the modern world are holding huge amounts of information about their subjects. Credit bureaus, banks, insurance companies, travel agents, telephone companies, internet service providers, hospitals and a host of other commercial parties are holding even more personal data about their customers. Not too mention the giants of internet, such as Google and Facebook.
But how about legal secrecy? Forget it. Maybe it is better than nothing, but most of this information, probably all of it, can be obtained by anyone with some knowledge and determination. It can be compiled and you can be mapped to an extent that ought to give you nightmares. And never forget that secrecy can be abolished, retroactively! It has been done many times.
Governments map you to control you and to ensure that you are kept in line. Most people tend to see government as a good force which is not dangerous. The same people are those saying that if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide. But just look at the world, and the history! A government is not your friend. It uses you. For profit and for power. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes it is more deceptive. And government changes. What can for a short time seem to be a benevolent force can quickly change face and become a beast.
From a completely different perspective, that of the governments themselves, there is a point-of-view that is surprisingly overlooked: that collected and stored data about the population is a national security risk. Not only for the individual, but for the state! Just imagine another country planning an invasion, or generally preparing to harm a society! How useful with all the information about everything! So wouldn't it be in every state's own interest to keep as little information as possible stored? And especially not to exchange said data with other governments - potential future enemies?
What do you have to fear, apart from governmental and commercial abuse? Criminals! Blackmailing or kidnapping for ransom is big business in many parts of the world, and it is spreading. Of course it is wealthy people who are targeted. The criminals choose their victim because they know something about that person. If nobody knows you are wealthy, you will not be at risk.
Parasites of every description, whether they are kidnappers, bureaucrats or people who generally want to get something for nothing, flock like flies to a piece of sugar to the one they think they can benefit from. Privacy can save you a great deal of trouble.
But what about ordinary people around you? How do they react to someone who guards his privacy?
The truth is that most people cannot respect privacy at all. They just have to try to penetrate it, to get behind the protective shields. When they cannot, and if you are well versed in privacy they will never be able to do it, then they become unpleasant. Often they get suspicious... what do you have to hide? They simply do not understand anything about what privacy is, why it is important or how it is upheld. They don't understand that for you the default is "secret and closed, unless you have a good reason for disclosure", while for them, and the majority, the default is "open, unless there is a specific reason to keep something secret and closed". They begin to feel themselves personally mistrusted, not understanding that your stance on privacy is not personal, not intended against just them. Further, they don't realise that their only chance to get behind it is by earning trust, and that is not done by trying to break into your private sphere by stealth or force. Indeed, they don't realise that trying to force themselves into it might even be dangerous, especially if it is done behind your back. There might be traps. That is to say, someone taking his privacy seriously might take drastic measures (if necessary) to protect it.
Also those not themselves taking privacy seriously must realise that for those that do, it might be as important as life itself!
At this point I ask myself another question. Why do we, true privacy seekers and keepers, always have to defend our stance on privacy? Why is our standpoint always questioned by everyone not sharing it? Why do they always think we are hiding some terrible secret because we do not like to live publicly, because we think that that would unduly limit and restrict our lives?
The answer, or a part of it, I think, is that they are scared. A person keeping his privacy firmly is an unknown factor, and the unknown feels dangerous for people not being of the same mind. And what he privately might disclose to selected individuals is sometimes disbelieved by those upon whom the confidence is bestowed. They cannot verify it, that is a consequence of privacy per definition; what cannot be verified they dare not believe. Fear again - and, a reflection of their own personality! Undue deception is the only reason they could imagine for privacy. So, by their flawed attitude they clearly demonstrate what you could expect of them!
Beware for such fools. Let them play their games in peace, but don't even try to teach them about privacy (they are the ones that would abuse it), don't allow them near yourself. They will never learn, and they will never respect your point. They just waste your time!
Related article: Why Should You Always Write under a Pseudonym?
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Such an interesting article! Indeed, privacy seems to be a luxury, yet we all can afford it through our own ways.