The Erasure of Privacy (and what we can do to fix it)

     It is truly a modern tragedy that we all know so much about each other. I was raised to think "honesty is the best policy", and while I believe that's true, it's not realistic as an hard rule. It's important to speak your mind, especially to your friends, family and loved ones. It's important to be able to authentically tell the world who you are, what you care for,  and yet, there are limits. Some things are best kept secret. Yet, secrecy in the modern world is a precious and rare thing, something that some younger people might have gone their whole life without truly experiencing. 

    I happen to be in a very unique position when writing about such a thing, I was born in 2005, when sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube were in their infancy. The whole internet was, and though I barely remember it, I was alive for the last years when our lives were not digital. When I was starting elementary school, I received an IPod, and my parents had Facebook accounts for talking with distant friends. When I walked across the stage at graduation, I had an IPhone 13 in my pocket, several social media accounts to my name, and a digital footprint that I only recently understood the significance of. In a way, the modern internet and I grew up together, sharing the same formative years, and because of that, I understand it on a level that not many older people can. My most important takeaway is this: Nothing is Hidden, Sacred, or Unknown. If it happened, and there was a phone or camera of some sort present, it exists forever. If it exists, and someone wants to know about you, they'll find it. If I wanted to go back and look for all the digital activity of my classmates and I from 8 years ago, I could find it. I remember distinctly not wandering around outside much in my hometown, because cameras were everywhere, and the police had a particular disdain for anything fun. This isn't a dig at my town's police department, by the way, me and my classmates, in the 7th grade, were told to leave the local park's playground by the police because we were playing tag while some elementary age kids were present. Though the overprotection of American kids is a separate issue that deserves it's own blog, the point still pertains to this- someone was always watching, and we never forgot that fact. 

    With all that said, all our respective cards are on the table for others to see, so... what do we do? I'd argue we start with limiting government power to surveil so many. Examples of things like the Patriot Act and Freedom Act, and the provisions therein, need to be called out is immoral at best, and actively harmful at worst. The vulnerability of the people to National Security threats like terrorism and mass shootings is real, but I'm of the opinion that more surveillance and privacy infringement is not the answer. Along with that, I think a market will expand for services and products that offer themselves as privacy havens. VPNs, alternate browsers besides chrome, and services like DeleteMe have already proven that people are willing to pay for their privacy, and that pool is only going to get bigger. 

The importance of Checking Government Power

     It can be inferred that governments, for one reason or another, naturally become more controlling over time, for a variety of reasons. The reasons can range from dealing with chaos, whether internal or external, a reflex of self-preservation if that government feels it will fall apart, or simply due to the greed of individuals, who feel that standing atop the world is not enough. Logically, the expansion of government power can only come at the expense of an individual's rights, and therefore, it is within the self interest of the individuals, even as a group, to stop overreaches of government power.

    For that reason, it is my opinion that the fifth value of free expression - checking government power - is the most important one. When a government does something illegal, whether using force unjustly,  infringing on the rights of an individual, or passing laws that are not in the interest of people, they must be called out on it, and the people made aware of what has happened. For example, the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the administration of George W Bush was made under false pretenses, and when those pretenses turned out to indeed be false, people across the country rightfully protested. Even the international community turned on the US and called them out for this unlawful act. It turned out, the US could very easily just invade another country with flimsy excuses and spotty evidence, and that kind of realization for everyone triggered an immense backlash. Even still, this specifically is an issue the public has to be extra keyed into. The US, being a world superpower, has extra responsibility to use their power justly and with thought. There’s a debate to be had about whether the US really owes anyone anything, but at very least, the public must hold the people in charge accountable, to at least not do evil. 

     I would also like to offer some personal thoughts to this idea, beyond just calling out the government when they do something wrong. It is my opinion that, in order to retain the rights we currently have, it’s important to use free speech to push the government to offer as many rights to citizens as possible. From my perspective, there will always be those who come into power with malicious intent, even if they are subtle about it. Over the years, while there has been great progress in rights for previously downtrodden groups, individuals have lost some rights they previously took for granted. Take things like the patriot act, for example. So, in order to strike the balance with the powers that be slowly attempting to chip away at individual rights, we must always remind the government that the individual is still present, and they would very much like their rights. I believe there is value in asking yourself whether a law chips away at your individual rights, and if it does, maybe raising a question about it to your local or state representative. Individual rights must be safeguarded from any who would try to take them away.

My Personal Top 5 News Sources

Say what you will about news in the modern day, but one thing that can be praised about is the wide variety of choice we as regular people are provided. There are literal thousands of choices in front of us, between various mainstream outlets like Fox News and MSNBC, or social media apps like Facebook and Twitter/X. Maybe you have a favorite commentator on Youtube or Instagram that you'll listen to while you eat breakfast. All this choice is nice, but can be somewhat overwhelming if you're not sure of who's actually reliable and truthful. So, if you're looking for some inspiration, or just are curious about where I'm usually getting my information, here are my top 5 go-to news sources. 

5) Instagram

As far as just hearing about things that are happening, Instagram is just really good. Granted, for in depth analyses and nuanced conversation I would proceed with caution, but for what the app is, I don't really hold that against it. After all, it isn't a dedicated news app - it's social media. When I'm starting my day, or I'm in between classes, or am winding down after the day is over, I'll usually briefly check Instagram just to see if anything is going on. After all, the way I heard about the capture of Maduro, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and the results of the last two elections were through Instagram posts. Again, it should be stressed that this is a decent source, but this should not be your only source. 

4) Word of Mouth/Talking to my friends

There are plenty of days where maybe I've checked social media and other news apps, but something goes over my head or I wasn't paying close enough attention. It's a good thing then, that I'm lucky enough to have friends who want to talk to me about things. One of the most common conversation starters I find myself using (right behind telling friends about something that happened to me) is, "Hey, did you hear about ______?". Especially if it's a less important or breaking story, casually talking with friends about what's happening is, in my opinion, one of life's best simple pleasures. If you don't already talk to your friends about current events, even non-political topics if you're not one for politics, I would highly recommend starting. 

3) The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is great for more in depth analyses of specific issues. If you follow them closely, they are also great for hearing about current events as they happen. They are more focused towards economic and business issues, so if you're looking for more coverage of social issues and commentary, you'll come up a bit short. Despite that, what is covered is usually comprehensive and offers a lot of insight that you might not normally glean. I would feel that I'm being slightly misleading if I didn't mention that you have pay a subscription in order to read much of their content, which is, bluntly - not great. It's not an abnormally high payment amount, but it is mandatory for most (if not all) of their content.   

2) Reuters

Contrasting with The Wall Street Journal, Reuters offers mostly surface level coverage of news for free. Though the words "surface level" are somewhat misleading - it is quality surface level coverage. It gives you a blanket understanding of what's happening, who's involved, and not much else, which makes it great for just getting the point if you're in a hurry or are busy like me. They stand mostly in the political center, just by the nature of their matter-of-fact style, and to boot, you can read their articles for free. 

1) Ground News 

Finally, standing above the rest in my opinion, Ground News is a news aggregator that pulls thousands of stories and sorts them by topic, allowing you to see how different sources cover issues. They are free to use with options for subscriptions if users want extra features. I personally haven't found another service that does what they do quite as well, and it is always the first place I go when I hear about a new breaking story. It is tailored for an audience that wants more out of the news, and if that isn't you, I don't think looking into them is required. However, if that is you, and you're tired of narrow viewpoints, I can't recommend them enough.