Charles Redoble

Assignment 4
Cahill
12 September 2016
My Concepts of Privacy
Privacy, to myself, is the ability to be alone without the worry of being watched. Being
monitored in any society subjects individuals into changing their normal behavior and for the
majority of people, they have not done anything detrimental to society. Privacy, like all
freedoms, has reasonable restrictions. For example, freedom of speech has restrictions in terms
of endangering people. You cant yell Fire! in a crowded theater or Bomb! at an airport
unless it is to warn people. Suspicious activity warrants an infringement on privacy situationally
and although the context of the word suspicious is subjective, there should be a culturally
accepted understanding of what privacy is. My proposal is that government should not be
allowed to infringe on these rights. Everything else is subject to how individuals interact. A
conversation on how to balance both should be created.

On an individual level, one should be free to go to a sex toy store, strip club, or bar
without warranting stigma based on their interests. Ideas of pleasure have been generally
accepted in the Western World and they have the right to live their lives privately if they dont
harm another individual. If someone that has a criminal record for murder or assault goes into a
gun store, there should be objective restrictions to how they are able to access firearms. By no
means am I suggesting that society should become an actthenreact way in order to have law but
too much intrusion causes disarray. If individuals do not have the right to live their life happily
and privately without threat of harming someone else, then that liberty should not be infringed by
the government.

In terms of other institutions, such as family or religion, this is more subjective.

Discipline is varyingly acceptable but they should not be able to forcibly (with legal
repercussions) enforce anything to infringe this. Family should respect one another's privacy. If a
child wants to play video games in his room while visitors from out of town are downstairs, a
mother can yell and discipline them and no harm is done. But if a mother barges into a room
while the child is taking a shower or anything similar to the point where someone feels
threatened or uncomfortable, they then infringe on their personal privacy. Smaller areas such as a
single bedroom/bathroom apartment with six people might have more difficulty in how someone
has privacy, but privacy within the family structure is more subjective. It may prove more of a
task and labor to get the same levels of privacy within a crowded household than in a large
mansion but it should be subject to personal decisions. Im implying privacy shall not be
infringed upon the government but with all freedoms, there are reasonable restrictions.

As time has evolved, cultural interpretations have changed with it to reflect the time and
place. Which is understandable but by the same token has proven to be detrimental. Ideas such as
unreasonable search and seizure have been prevalent for the United States since the nations
inception but as technology evolved, it warrants a deeper discussion and conversation. What
could be a research project on ISIS and terrorist organizations can be viewed by an outsider as
interest into joining these groups. To have large government surveillance over phone calls,
emails, and browsing history without an outstanding warrant proves as the largest infringement
over civil liberties a governing body can do. But what is the silver lining? Well, there is no
simple solution to a constantly evolving media. But it is not through the methodology we
currently have. What needs to be discussed though are how to find the few without searching
through the whole. Certain ideas and actions alert red flags so why scour through people minding

their own business? If someone is on the street on the phone, a government official would be
pushed away if he or she were jotting every detail of the conversation by eavesdropping. If it
isnt acceptable publicly in an analog sense, what gives it more sanctity in terms of a digital
sense? The exchange of information as well as the right to be alone are foundational pillars of the
concept of privacy. Privacy is an integral leg to stand on for creativity, ingenuity and
understanding. Privacy should be protected highly and prioritized in rationalizing the moral
implications of an action. Are the specific methods consistent with the principles this nation has
already established?

In conclusion, privacy is a freedom that can and should openly be discussed. One should
have the ability to live privately without being persecuted by government and state officials
unless actions or suspicious activity warrant it. Intrusions of privacy should be situational and
reserved for the wellbeing of the people in respect to the laws we have accepted. Specific
organizations can create their own subjective interpretations of privacy but cannot infringe on
individuals rights. There is no specific answer to how to make all parties involved happy but a
conversation must be sparked. The concept of privacy is a liberty afforded to all people and
creeds and without valid claims, should be protected with the utmost respect.