Privacy

My friend Brian (Plug) is one of the best people I know.  He cares deeply about people, he works tirelessly to help people less fortunate than him, and he's very sharp.  And while I think we're both very intelligent people, we see very differently on a few things.

One of those things is privacy.

On Twitter, he brought up a privacy issue.  The government is apparently using drones to spy on people.  He thought it was outrageous that anyone could possibly go along with it.  And I, basically, said that I didn't understand the problem.  Because, basically, I don't necessarily understand the right to privacy.  Particularly when dealing with the issue of safety.

If I had to choose between privacy and safety, give me safety.  Not even close.
If I had to choose between privacy and safety of the nation, give me safety.  Not even close.
If I had to choose between privacy and safety of one person I know, give me safety.  Not even close.
If I had to choose between privacy and safety of one person I don't know, give me safety.  Not even close.

Do I close the door of my apartment?  Yes.  Do I close the blinds so that people can't see in?  Yes.  Do I close the door of my room, even when no one is there but my roommate?  Yes.  Do I do things in the privacy of my own space that I don't want people to see?  Yes.  Would I be embarrassed if things I do got out into the public?  Yes.

I value privacy.  I protect my privacy.  But I don't value it over life.  Any life.

I have things to hide.  But I'm willing to expose my skeletons if other people expose their own.  And if those other exposed skeletons can save lives, I'm more than happy to be a little embarrassed.

You might agree with me.  You might not.  Let's do a little mind test, though.

Would you allow cameras to monitor your life 24/7 if it meant saving a life?  The life is chosen at random.  It could be someone you know, it could be someone in your city or your state or your country.  It could be a bad person or a good person.  You don't know who it would be, and you would never find out.

My answer is yes.

If your answer is no, I have a follow up.  Would you kill that person, in cold blood, to keep your privacy?

I asked this question to a person at work whose opinion I respect.  She said that the person would have to die.  Same with five people.  Ten.  One hundred.  One million.  She values her privacy over millions of lives.  And that's fine.  One right I believe in more than privacy is the right to one's own opinion.  Like Brian, I respect the opinion of anyone.  Not only if they disagree - especially if they disagree.

This coworker isn't a criminal.  She has nothing dangerous to hide.  If the government put surveillance on her, there would be nothing to gain.  Same with Brian.  Same with me.  But there are people with dangerous secrets that they're trying to hide.  And in matters of life, death, and embarrassment, I can't help but think of "One of these things is not like the other." 

Embarrassment goes away.  People don't come back from the dead.  I've dealt with the death of a close family member, and I've been embarrassed in front of my entire high school.  One is much, much worse.

Now one issue that I understand is - who's watching?  If it means airing my secrets to the entire world, I better be saving a pretty great life.  I'm not allowing a camera to put my life on the Internet to save a criminal on death row or a 99 year old man in hospice. 

But we're not talking about that.

We're also not talking about 24/7 surveillance on every American.  Simply because that's physically impossible.  Unless we're outsourcing this surveillance to 350 million Martians, there aren't enough people to monitor everyone all the time.  Even if there was a camera in every room, who's going to watch all those cameras?  If I'm asleep, does the monitor get to sleep?  Probably not.  So does he have to stay awake all the time?  Or do you have to assign two people to watch me 24/7?  Three?  Four?  What if my guy gets sick?  Or wants a vacation day?  Five?  Six?

It's a ridiculous idea.  Big Brother can't happen because the resources don't exist.  We could oursource it to intelligent machines, but we don't really seem to care about embarrassing ourselves in front of our current machines.  I don't hide myself from a lamp.  Or my TV.  Or even the all-powerful Internet.  If Commander Data wants to watch me undress, I don't think I'd care.  Because he certainly wouldn't.

We trust certain people to do certain jobs.  When your house is broken into, we trust that the police will come quickly and save our lives.  Is there a chance that the policeman is more of a criminal than the intruder?  Sure.  The intruder could be a good but desperate man, and the cop could be as dirty as Matt Damon in The Departed.  But at a certain point, we have to trust that the "good guys" are on our side.

It's the same with the government.  Politicians might be sleazy, but they're people like you and me.  I don't necessarily believe that any people are born evil.  And I honestly believe that civil servants of any kind all started their careers wanting to help people.  Any person monitoring any other person would be the same.  I'd have to trust that they're going to be professional.  Will they all be?  Probably not.  But I also don't think they'd all be evil.

If it means saving a life, go ahead and film me.  Particularly if it's my life.