Not so long ago privacy was an expected right amongst all Americans, but now, by the day it seems like an right that has become relic of the past. The majority of people are willing to give up their right to privacy under an idea that “If I have nothing to hide why do I need privacy”, is astounding. The realization of the loss of privacy came to a peak with the Snowden Revelations, but how did we get here?
Post 9/11 World
People talk about the pre 9/11 having much less oversight and to a point they are actually correct. Before 9/11 many precedents like legal warrantless wiretapping and surveillance were not broken. Until the point that the NSA convinced our country that the best option to safety was to forfeit our rights of privacy, there was still a protocol authorities needed to follow. This all changed when the Patriot Act was quickly signed into law in October 2001, which gave authorities the legal power to pursue anyone they wished, with unlimited legal authority. Even with the Patriot act, some authorities still went beyond what they were legally allowed to do because lack of oversight at the time let them run free.
Inside Washington there were still large pushes for the government to extend surveillance as far as the general public. These pushes for greater surveillance themselves would create a basis, for future politicians and NSA funded projects, to build off. Most people were under the impression that suspected terrorists would be the only focus of the new surveillance, but records in recent years show that even in the beginning, these practices were heavily used on people suspected of all crimes. Those in power were breaking the law and to this day most have not been held accountable.
Mass Hysteria And Fear Amongst The Public
The biggest reason why the government was able to get away with the newly created security laws after 9/11 was due to the mass amount of hysteria and fear that followed 9/11 and other terrorist attacks in the upcoming weeks. People were afraid to fly, afraid to walk their dogs, or just go out to eat at a restaurant. Despite the chance of being killed by a terrorist being smaller than the chance of getting killed by a vending machine, people instantly gave up all their rights as collateral for safety. Fear made people weak and the government took advantage of this fact. Total surveillance over the people they govern has been the governments wet dream for centuries and because of technological advances and the rise of hysteria in the United States it became a possibility.
If total surveillance wasn’t enough, the government also tried to vilify those who spoke out against it. If you stood up for your rights, suddenly you were labeled unpatriotic or anti-American, when the very thing you were standing up for was what America was supposedly based off of. The media was happy to jump in and frame the same arguments the government was making, vilifying whistle blowers and playing up the levels of terrorism in the world so the average viewer would continue to watch. Even today Edward Snowden is considered an enemy of the state by many, partially because of how the media portrayed and continues to portray him. People in the US have decided that their rights are now expendable as long as they can save themselves a little bloodshed.
I say what is the point of living then? Without freedom what kind of lives do we have to protect? With little to no evidence that the amount of mass surveillance has done anything to stop recent terrorist attacks, why are we giving up our freedom for nothing? This is only the beginning as well, even after the realizations that came with Snowden, the NSA has STILL continued to get more government funding and increased the amount of international surveillance that goes on. If we don’t come together and do something quickly, the system that continues to grow will get to a point of no return. In fact we might be at that point already. We have tools like cryptocurrency to fight back , but whether or not it is enough is unknown. I hope our future doesn’t end up like the bleak ones described in novels like 1984, but there is a sizable probability that it will if something isn’t done.
-Calaber24p
Here's Harry Truman's advisor on why they started Communist-and-subversive witch hunts: "We did not believe there was a real problem. A problem was being manufactured. … We had a presidential campaign ahead of us, and here was a great issue, a very damaging one, so he set up the whole machinery."
There are many studies backing up your point: In the face of an exaggerated or manufactured "threat," people are willing to sacrifice their privacy and freedom. I'm actually in the middle of a huge story on it I've been researching for several months. Will post a link here.
In the meantime, the question, as raised in some of the comments is: Besides what we give away to or accept from the government because of FEAR, how much privacy and personal information and biometrics are we giving to corporations (and the government for TSA Precheck and similar programs) for CONVENIENCE?
https://steemit.com/sports/@kamrulrng24/eagles-vs-colts-live-online-time-tv-schedule-and-how-to-watch-nfl-preseason-online
Got my upvote. I am completely disillusioned and pissed off at the feral government and becoming more anarchist every day. I used to think of anarchists as crazy, violent druggies that just wanted to burn everything down. Now I realize this is a group of people who just want all their freedom and liberties back. I have a lot in common with that.
And it disgusts me that people are so brainwashed that we end up with Trump and Hillary for our two presidential candidates.
With all the data these bastards have mined from the American people they have picked the perfect false dichotomy that will lead to the same objective through alternate means.
Thay are playing on all the frustrations that have been built up on both sides over the last 15 years or so. We are accelerating towards the camps unless we do something to stop it or just bend over and take it until we die anyway.
I have been waiting for some big event but I realized not too long ago that it actually serves them better to just slowly turn up the heat under the kettle until all the frogs are boiled.
I also used to fall in line with the crowd and prefer safety over privacy but I am sick and tired of thinking that my every move is being watched by an ever more tyrannical government.
There is a quote I read a long time ago I am going to try to repeat from memory. "Those who trade their liberty for security deserve neither." I believe this saying is attributed to Franklin, but certainly holds true for our present day and age. Your comment above reflects a lot of my background and current way of thinking. Thanks for posting!
Glenn Greenwald says it best: https://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters?language=en
People are willing to give away their privacy just to earn money on Steemit - some might say this is the true freedom ;)
No one is truly free, some countries are just better pretenders than the others. Curious to see where it will be going thoug. Good post, by the way!
It's a tough call. If there is no surveillance, then all terror motivated crimes will get through. I can not speak for the US, but in Canada, there have been quite a few potential attacks prevented in part by acting on information gleaned using surveillance. The most recent one was where the US team provided the Canadian team with the information to stop the attack.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/08/18/taxi-driver-in-terror-takedown-says-police-put-his-life-at-risk.html
My question is ... how much is a life worth. If the Canadian government had surveillance on 25 million people and are able to prevent an attack that would kill 100 people, is it worth it? I don't have an answer.
be careful about taking at face value that quite a few potential attacks have been prevented. These agencies can say that and due to 'national security' and/or 'the privacy act', they don't' have produce any proof of their claims. As long as the people believe attacks are being prevented, the intrusions into privacy can continue and the funding will be there.
Many attacks in the US have been facilitated by the FBI. What? Yes, our FBI will often times continually drop ideas into the heads of these people trying to bate them in to action. Often times the FBI has fueled the already burning mindset of a would be attacker, set them up with the props needed, led them to FBI informants, and given them the needed info to carry out plans that are often times fed to the by the FBI.
You can find more through a Google search, but here is an article and several good links through it to back up the claims. The FBI is not always being the good ole' boys in there attempts.
http://creativetimereports.org/2015/01/26/fbi-counterterrorism-lyric-cabral-david-felix-sutcliffe-sundance/
http://creativetimereports.org/2015/01/26/fbi-counterterrorism-lyric-cabral-david-felix-sutcliffe-sundance/
I believe the only 3 real terror attacks that have been prevented since 911 have been prevented by citizen actions and have completely gotten past the government. All other attackers have carried out their plans, so not caught by the government, or the government themselves, such as the CIA and FBI, manipulated individuals into thinking they should carry out a terrorist act so that they could "stop" them. Which btw is ridiculous. Stopping someone from doing something they weren't going to do without that same person convincing them to do it isn't helping anyone.
Good article on a relevant topic. Coming from a guy who worked to get the red light cameras down in my old neighborhood, privacy is something that I foresee being a scarce resource for the non-political class.
Its hard to say if were at that point of no return into the surveillance state but I think we can have some hope in the free market to provide safer and secure tools to combat being surveilled on. As these revelations circulation grows public outrage will inevitably be enough to set fire all government credibility and reveal the entities inherent evils. The funding and trusting must end. Life should be lived free.
Great article, thank you for the sharing, namaste :)
Post 9/11 world? Try as far back as 1907, when The Carnegie Institution started collecting index cards on ordinary Americans, under the science of eugenics. Mass hysteria is utilized by I think every country in the world to control the herd.
Because humans (in general) are stupid and will believe anything their government tells them, even "security requires giving up your rights".
Oh and I just published "The Secrets Steemit's Whale's Don't Want You To Know!"
I believe in privacy even if America has become apathetic towards it by using devices without the knowledge of how those devices are recording data. I know there are others that also believe and together I have hope that decentralizing the internet again will be the first step. When a consensus has been achieved then the real development can begin to allow information from one party to be relevant to other parties that have been designated. Putting the genie back in the bottle is an enormous challenge, but in time and cooperation I hope it will occur.
what's up with the comments? Does no reader read them? I mean the content(post) is great and has gotten 397 votes. As are the comments... seems as the voters are just voting just to vote and don't really read the post. when I say voters I mean mostly all. How do you vote for a post and not read the comments all comments are also great to read and continue the post in its own way, like an extension, I think we all need to take steemit more as a community to spread great content and not worry so much about money.... it will build the community we are building better! If you read the post and vote on the post at least read the comments... again its part of the article,blog, post it builds character.
Steemit and Privacy will always have money signs, privacy is nothing but a word to control the sheep, there is no such thing as privacy any more even if you were a billionaire and living on an island... people will know you still live there.
@calaber24p
Here is some more food for thought. Everything you write in the keychain, every single post you made, is forever.
Everyone benefits from information gathering. Goverments are much like Businesses.
Saying privacy doesn't matter if you have nothing to hide is like saying free speech doesn't not matter if you have nothing to say
They all tell us that its for our own safety. Could it be or they just wanted to control us?
One word: Government
Nossa sociedade abre da mão privacidade quando a sensação de risco morte eminente aumenta. É bom ter privacidade e liberdade, mas com segurança.
"Our society gives up privacy when the feeling of risk death imminent increases. It is good to have privacy and freedom , but with security."
Translated by Google
Having nothing to hide is not a reason to give up your privacy. There was a report a few years ago (that I can no longer find, tin-foil hat wearers will know why) from the UK Information Commissioner. 17 entirely innocent people has their lives ruined (early morning raids, led off in handcuffs, lost jobs, social exclusion) because data was incorrectly attributed to them.
When serveillance is used as a short cut to build lists of the 'probably guilty' we are all in danger of being caught in the net, it only takes a "-" in your email address to be accidentally read as a "." and now you are having a case built against you through mistaken identity. The situation is made worse because its your ISP providing the data; lets be honest you cant trust your ISP to bill you correctly, you really want to trust them with ensuring you arent mistakenly identified as a criminal?
If surveillance saves lives its worth it. Great post @calaber24p.
victimhood does not become any of you. stop it. push back. you have not only the right, but the duty to defend yourselves. if not then you are willing slaves and should shut up and get to work.
Well said.
Privacy is not an absolute right; it differs in different contexts and is balanced against other competing rights and duties.
Privacy is the claimed right of natural persons to protection from intrusion into their personal lives and to control the flow of their personal information.
I would suggest, that any one reading this, go and have a look at the deffinition of person or natural person. It is not want we think. It actually refers to business entity, and the question that arises is, are you a business entity or leaving flesh and blood?
Ignorance. Very good points. Hope 1948 doesn't come true too. They wouldn't let him name it 1948 even.
This reminds me of the book "1996" being under constant surveillance of the government.
big brother is always watching
haha yeah that is the first thing that came to my mind
"...if something isn't done."
Plenty of the population is now "awake". The first revolution was fought and won against the best military on the planet, by a mere 3% of the populace at the time. Far more than that now know what is being done to themselves and others in their names. What is planned for the general public can only begin after liberalism (in its current form of fascism in disguise), has completely destabilized western civilization, according to George Soros, who is paying the bills of the lefty social justice morons. But, only until the next phase (invasion and depopulation) begins. Then, the spoiled children of the left will no longer be useful to Soros, but a huge liability as many of them simply " know too much" and will be betrayed, losing their lives in the process. The Soros email hacks tell us this, for a fact. So, we have the information about the future that in the absence of "somebody" to "do something", most of humanity will probably not see the dawn of 2020 or 2025. Until Barack Obama was elected, Americans were not people who one wanted to mess with. Since then, Americans have chosen to become a mere shadow of their parents and grandparents, by and large. That plastic bottles are lined with estrogen mimicking chemicals (BPA), is only one of the many ways our government is working hand in hand with the elites against the people. The same people to whom they swore an oath to protect. The deceit and poorly constructed lies fed to us by the media is why the ICC calls War Propagandizing a capital crime. There are virtually no longer any American institutions left that haven't had their credibility and trustworthiness gutted like a fish by the Obama administration and the elites, leaving the people nowhere else to turn to find "somebody " to "do something" about it. In other words, nobody is going to save us from the now openly rogue federal government. Not Batman, Superman or even John Rambo. Nobody is coming, NOBODY. We must save ourselves, and we dare not fail.
We dare not fail to save America. For if we do not succeed, either by inaction or cowardice, literally all of humanity will be cast into the darkness of a world that no longer has a place of refuge and freedom where life can be better than where they are now. Humanity will have nothing to be hopeful about. All hope will literally be lost along with the freedoms that used to be America.
Saving ourselves is not impossible by a long shot. Yes, there will be sacrifices made by all. Especially by the people who are willing and able to risk their lives in order to take the liberties (yes, liberties are taken, not given.), that eventually will result in the destruction of the NWO/globalists plans for creating a planet of, "us versus them", they are dumb enough to believe they can subjugate, enslave and control in perpetuity.
Such a world few non-elites would choose to be a part of. Which makes the planned depopulation kind of serendipitous, sort of. Unless one minds being executed for voicing a differing opinion as the left demands " tolerance" but reciprocates absolutely none for anyone else.
We the people in order to form a more perfect union, must look within ourselves and find the willingness and the courage (and the resources necessary), to become that "somebody" who has "done something". Blogging, and exposure of government crimes and malfeasance are needed to wake up the sleeping people. But, the people are basically awake now. The time for online activities is nearing its end. The people must next determine the where's and how's of eliminating those who are driving the situation, before they can do the same to you and yours. That means, if it belongs to the MSM, burn it to the ground and end them as they run out. It means, if it is part of or owned by the federal government, (not state, county or local), it is to be rendered unusable, destroyed or dead. ALL federal employees, (except for postal service workers) by remaining at their posts, are vacating the American ideal and any work accomplished by them, is to be counted as being against the people. As such, ALL federal government employees are to be considered as Traitors whose paychecks are their 30 pieces of silver.
If you've ever said that it is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees, this is your time to shine, and shine brightly. For the alternative eventually, is death at the hands of the evil in the world.
Let your conscience be your guide.
We prefer to be called "woke"
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." (Ben Franklin)
Welcome to Generation "Me-ism!" on Facebook, Twitter etc....the rise of ego - the smartphone has castrated this generation of any fight!
Great read! Very true!
I don't think "we as a society" ever gave up our privacy. We were not even asked. Our privacy was just taken from us.
Sometimes you have few options but to change with the times. Look at this new world we have do you go forward or live in the past.
From what I've been reading in the alternative news sources, it sounds like the country, and other countries, are on the knife's edge of total collapse. Makes you wonder if as an anarchist community we should be concentrating more on building alternatives to a statist society...making preparations and coming up with concepts to put in place once the collapse comes.
I do agree with most of these very good points, however the title throws me off a bit as I don't see that 'we' have agreed anything as a society; unless perhaps in an inadvertent way by not resisting what the govn't does on our behalf.(as if that even applies anymore and I don't see that it does)
I see this as an outright imposition, not an agreement.
ShadowCash FTW
I havent!
Our country is becoming more than just a surveillance state. Evidence can be seen of an emerging totalitarian global state. One not governed by any one nation but by an international coalition of technologically advanced nations. A police state will be the least of our worries. I hope I am wrong but it does look like this is the path our world is taking.
The obsequiousness of the surveillance system is designed for ultimate control. Our Driver's License photo now records our retinas which are as individual as our fingerprints -- but nobody told us, asked out permission, nor did we commit any offense to encourage them to force us to relinquish our unique characteristic for their files.
Enter any banking hall where there once were six cashiers working and you will be lucky if there are two. The urge to be of service is not longer of any urgency as we move towards a cashless society. By the erosion of customer service, we will be weaned to the point whereby face-to-face communication is fraught with inconvenience.
A cashless society will be the ultimate in control. Remember the last time, for some unknown reason, your card didn't work. You probably had to make a phone call to fix the problem. Just imagine, should you be guilty of a minimal infraction, and the 'powers that be' choose to eliminate you from the system!
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Who is 'we', cleartext-man? :D
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We don't have any rights, the government gets to choose our privileges.
I've been keeping dabs on a fascinating theory regarding Snapchat. Obviously, Snapchat filters have been a huge hit, but there is rumor that the CIA is buying the data from Snapchat for facial recognition purposes -- which is both amazing and scary at the same time.
That is like, intense.
Privacy is not a right.
Privacy is a privilege.
Not the same thing.
Who grants my privacy?
Good post man :)
From slavery to this what is next global mandatory"immunizations"
"For God, People, Nature, and Country" visit philipines ^^
https://steemit.com/life/@weepee02/are-you-okay-ayoke-ok
I don't remember the media particularly vilifying Snowden. Maybe it's because I don't follow a lot of MSM, but what I have seen actually portrays Snowden as a hero and the USG as a villain.
Also as @neilstrauss says, your concern seems to be the government.. but really we've by far seceded much more of our privacy to private corporations. Everyone's always pissed about government this and government that, while global corporations are doing everything they can to control everything.
That's because people are now sheep. They do not pay attention to what has been going on and are so entrenched in believing in entitlements, they will give up their privacy to get free stuff.
It's sick but it is what has become of this country
"Big brother" may be..., but God's sovereignty will be the end all!
Hi
it`s interesting post
go on
The view from an european citizen: