Nothing much is private anymore
Do you realize how fast your rights to privacy are being eroded away? Most persons have no idea of all the different people who are looking over their shoulder. We are being watched more closely and are more vulnerable to new technologies than ever before.
Remember, the eyes of the surveillance cameras are on you in the parking lots, banks, tollbooths, and shopping centers plus other public exposure areas. Any time you purchase something and use your credit card you are handing over your personal information. Some grocers keep what they call "club cards" that enable them to keep detailed records of your buying habits. Most records these days are computerized and that includes court cases, real estate sales, bankruptcies, vehicle purchases and many others.
Public information is a valuable commodity and is repeatedly sold over and over again to private firms. The fact of the matter is, our own government is the biggest data collector of all. The Clinton Administration has created national data bases on a host of things. Add your Social Security number to those data bases and all kinds of conclusions could be drawn on, such as, your strengths, weaknesses and moral character. But then, suppose your health profile is added to include what you have or may develop? Suppose it was a serious illness. It could be a "red flag" to insurance firms, mortgage lenders and even future employers not to touch you.
Modern data banks can create a host of information on you from the day you are born to the day you die. The average person wants privacy, and we have a fair amount of it with our televisions and computers to keep us away from crowded theaters and mass entertainment centers; and yet, when we started to enjoy our privacy, technology came along, taking it away little by little.
During the past two centuries, Supreme Court decisions have, for the most part, upheld the citizen's right to privacy. On the other side of the coin, government information gathering helps ensure that taxes are correctly collected and the country's monies are properly distributed to its citizens. No matter how you view it, privacy is a fifty-fifty split.
Arthur L. Andre
St. Charles