by Cassandra Tribe

Created on: October 22, 2007

America is in a crisis of privacy. We are threatened, as a nation, with a complete loss of our ability to compete as innovators and developers of ideas, products and intellectual property. Without privacy, our lives become transparent and the drive for social acceptance rises above the drive for self realization, making us less than what we could be.

Since 9/11 and the birth of "Homeland Security" there has been a commonly accepted need to sacrifice an individual's right to privacy in favor of the ultimate goal of safety and security. This sacrifice has taken the form of a largely disorganized approach to disseminating information to watchdog groups whose lack of communication with each other has led to very few interventions. Warrant less wire-tapping, internet spidering, confidential information release demands have done little to enhance our security as a nation and much to increase our individual paranoia about 'what will happen to my information'.

The same concern arises in the corporate sphere as more and more companies share subscriber information or use the information as a starting point for larger marketing schemes. Healthcare information, despite the well-intended HIPPA, has become almost an open source for providers and marketers alike, leaving clients wary of seeking treatment or even of being open with their doctors for fear of where that information will land. The internet has allowed for a far broader scope of investigation by providers and employers in a person's history then ever before. Gone are the days when a mere move would allow for a fresh start. The World Wide Web has connected us so globally and immediately that a person is now "branded" by their past and history.

It is, however, what has happened to the American Culture, which enables all of this new information sharing to have such a powerful effect. The American Culture has become more transparent in the past twenty years, largely due to the rise of popularity of the Internet. Lives are expected to be lived exposed. From the blogging culture, which touts our private desires and intimate moments as entertainment, to the culture of celebrity which has ceased to be about the glossy media presentation of the lives of those we idolize and become the desperate exposure of the "rich and famous" as being no better in real life then anyone else.

Without a sense of privacy, the human mind and soul is incapable of learning its own desires, capabilities and limitations. In an atmosphere of constant exposure and scrutiny, a kind of paranoia supplants introspection and the question ceases to be "what do I think?" and becomes "what will be thought of me?"
This culture of co-dependency traps people in a cycle of trying to please without any concept of what is pleasing to them. Or displeasing. Without the room to examine one's thoughts and motivations, the foundation for realizing potential and genius is undermined. Is it any wonder that America is swiftly becoming a provider of services rather than of innovation and invention?

Privacy, a room of one's own, a place in which to safely explore our internal landscapes - is a requirement for self-realization. Without it, we are consumers only. America, which has not been set up from the beginning to allow for measured consideration, needs to address the speed and transparency with which we live our lives. Less transparent lives lead to more productive and innovative ones. Our future depends on the reestablishment of the individuals' right to privacy, not only in the corporate and public arenas, but in the personal one as well.

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