We have strict laws whereby no one can open a letter sent
via the US Postal Service without violating the sacredness of the privacy
protected within that envelop. We misplaced our trust in extrapolating that the
privacy we have had traditionally using such communications would happen when
we used newer communication mechanisms. But somehow that same notion of privacy
does not exist if you talk on the phone, use a credit card, send an email or
work on a computer.
In part, it happened because, when the USA "declares
war" on something (including drugs, terrorism, people, etc.) it is not
just a euphemism. It means the
Constitution doesn't have to be followed anymore and there are new rules about
privacy--i.e., none. We just didn't understand those were the new rules because
drugs and terrorism stuff are crimes, not wars.
Mr. Snowden took us out of the naive place we settled into
when thinking technology was only a friend or that it helped make our lives
easier. He reminded us that our lives are not private and that we can be personally
invaded in any way, at any time, by anyone (government or private sector) who
wants to invade them. Even having our guns won't help protect us.
It is such an important concept to debate and fight over and
preserve because without it we could not have endless choice for ourselves. But
the real value of privacy, of course, depends on what you do with it provided
that mere self-indulgence is not guiding our lives.
This is the paradox: The notion of privacy (and the Freedom
that is the basis of it) changes from being for the pursuit of individual
happiness to leading to enhanced expressions of creativity, original thought,
increased productivity and an overall high quality of life.
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