Voyeur Nation
Hitchcock warned us. So did Orwell and Kubrick, in a different, more disturbing way. They were the storytellers in the dawn of the modern age, and they dealt with issues like a future without freedom and the invasion of personal privacy, whether widespread or isolated.
The "right to privacy" is a hotly debated topic in politically minded circles, mostly because some think it is an inherent right while others argue that safety should take precedence over it. The problem comes from the fact that it was never explicitly defined by the U.S. Constitution. The framers purposely left the Constitution worded extremely vaguely, so that there would always be room to adjust government as times changed.
Our president is in the midst of a wire-tapping scandal that, if fully investigated, could be crippling for the Republican party, much like Richard Nixon's faults were. It has been said that fear is a weapon used by those in power to maintain or strengthen their grip on their position. However, there is always a breaking point, when those in power overstep their bounds and bring about some sort of revolt. In the nearly five years since 9/11, the Republican party has used this tactic to gain political power in an environment fueled by xenophobia.
The xenophobic post-9/11 environment has affected many aspects of the lives of American citizens, from the everyday personal life to the general foreign policy of the country. But it's not just the government who has a roving eye; the American citizens themselves have become somewhat paranoid and suspicious on their own. The greatest example of this is the magic of the internet.
Complex beast that it is, there are roughly thirteen billion ways for a person to be tracked via the internet. The most personal, commercial, and popular ones are networks like The Facebook and MySpace. While they're fun for keeping track of friends both old and new, the capacity for stalking using these sites is ridiculously high. I can look at photos of tens of thousands of Penn State students whenever I want. By now, every PSU student knows about the police investigation following the football team's win over Ohio State. Fans rushed the field, and later were identified using pictures posted on The Facebook. It also seems that every month there are news reports of sexual predators who use MySpace to prey on teenagers. It's scary.
It seems that these networks are a big problem. Our privacy is at stake when we use them. But the real problem is that everyone knows what a sketchy system it is, yet they still use it. Sure, there are benefits to using them, like maintaining a social relationship with people, but it seems obvious that the risks outweigh the rewards by a long shot. Maybe it's just a sign that teenagers and college students don't know what's best for themselves. But you'd think if a college student can balance school, work, and a social life while living out on their own, they could figure out that volunteering personal information on a StalkerNet isn't the smartest thing to do.
No, personal responsibility isn't the real issue here. After all, even adults will tune in every week to watch the personal lives of sixteen castaways bicker about whose turn it is to catch fish. The problem is a cultural one: America is addicted to voyeurism. We like stalking. We like being stalked. We like having a Big Brother watching us. That way, when something goes wrong, there's always someone else to blame. We don't want to face the reality that we are the only people responsible for our own actions.
We're nosy people. It boggles my mind when someone says we have the right to know the details of other people's personal lives. Sure, I'm not going to turn my head when somebody gives me some juicy gossip, but actively seeking out that gossip is just unethical. Why is it that political candidates are often only judged by their past personal decisions? Did Bill Clinton's effectiveness as the leader of our country change when he got that blowjob from Monica Lewinsky? Hell no. But Americans like to dig deep into people's personal lives and then hypocritically hold minor flaws against them.
Big Brother is watching you. You're watching everyone else.
The "right to privacy" is a hotly debated topic in politically minded circles, mostly because some think it is an inherent right while others argue that safety should take precedence over it. The problem comes from the fact that it was never explicitly defined by the U.S. Constitution. The framers purposely left the Constitution worded extremely vaguely, so that there would always be room to adjust government as times changed.
Our president is in the midst of a wire-tapping scandal that, if fully investigated, could be crippling for the Republican party, much like Richard Nixon's faults were. It has been said that fear is a weapon used by those in power to maintain or strengthen their grip on their position. However, there is always a breaking point, when those in power overstep their bounds and bring about some sort of revolt. In the nearly five years since 9/11, the Republican party has used this tactic to gain political power in an environment fueled by xenophobia.
The xenophobic post-9/11 environment has affected many aspects of the lives of American citizens, from the everyday personal life to the general foreign policy of the country. But it's not just the government who has a roving eye; the American citizens themselves have become somewhat paranoid and suspicious on their own. The greatest example of this is the magic of the internet.
Complex beast that it is, there are roughly thirteen billion ways for a person to be tracked via the internet. The most personal, commercial, and popular ones are networks like The Facebook and MySpace. While they're fun for keeping track of friends both old and new, the capacity for stalking using these sites is ridiculously high. I can look at photos of tens of thousands of Penn State students whenever I want. By now, every PSU student knows about the police investigation following the football team's win over Ohio State. Fans rushed the field, and later were identified using pictures posted on The Facebook. It also seems that every month there are news reports of sexual predators who use MySpace to prey on teenagers. It's scary.
It seems that these networks are a big problem. Our privacy is at stake when we use them. But the real problem is that everyone knows what a sketchy system it is, yet they still use it. Sure, there are benefits to using them, like maintaining a social relationship with people, but it seems obvious that the risks outweigh the rewards by a long shot. Maybe it's just a sign that teenagers and college students don't know what's best for themselves. But you'd think if a college student can balance school, work, and a social life while living out on their own, they could figure out that volunteering personal information on a StalkerNet isn't the smartest thing to do.
No, personal responsibility isn't the real issue here. After all, even adults will tune in every week to watch the personal lives of sixteen castaways bicker about whose turn it is to catch fish. The problem is a cultural one: America is addicted to voyeurism. We like stalking. We like being stalked. We like having a Big Brother watching us. That way, when something goes wrong, there's always someone else to blame. We don't want to face the reality that we are the only people responsible for our own actions.
We're nosy people. It boggles my mind when someone says we have the right to know the details of other people's personal lives. Sure, I'm not going to turn my head when somebody gives me some juicy gossip, but actively seeking out that gossip is just unethical. Why is it that political candidates are often only judged by their past personal decisions? Did Bill Clinton's effectiveness as the leader of our country change when he got that blowjob from Monica Lewinsky? Hell no. But Americans like to dig deep into people's personal lives and then hypocritically hold minor flaws against them.
Big Brother is watching you. You're watching everyone else.
posted by Kevin A. Doran at 4:20 PM
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