Sunday, July 09, 2006
So many Secrets
Today's meditation is on secrets.
We've all got them. Sure, we sometimes spill them. Often those we share them with can't seem to keep them. But there's stuff that can embarass or harm us that we don't want others to know.
Take the recent spate of secrets exposed by those agencies entrusted with them, like the laptop cases. Sure, it's an accident when sensitive information on thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of citizens is compromised because a computer is lost or stolen. But it makes you worry that the people who use this material isn't treated with more respect.
Then there's stuff like the recent revelations that our government is out and out spying on us. Whether you use a phone, email a friend, or read a book they're keeping track. I guess 9/11 really did change everything: it changed us from a democracy to a dictatorship overnight. Of course the government has to keep its activities secret from the public.
Even if we can justify to ourselves the collection of such data, it is inevitable that it will be misused by those who have access to it, revealed to the public by their incompetence, or hacked by those to whom it is an irresistable lure. The mere existence of such databases are a clear and present danger to all of us.
It seems like there are more and more secrets out there, and they make us more and more at risk. It used to be if you were going to be robbed, at least they had to take it from you directly. Now they can just assume your identity and steal from you without your even knowing about it.
We keep our secrets in hopes of making ourselves feel more secure and in control. Ironically, they make us more vulnerable and at the mercy of those who discover them.
We've all got them. Sure, we sometimes spill them. Often those we share them with can't seem to keep them. But there's stuff that can embarass or harm us that we don't want others to know.
Take the recent spate of secrets exposed by those agencies entrusted with them, like the laptop cases. Sure, it's an accident when sensitive information on thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of citizens is compromised because a computer is lost or stolen. But it makes you worry that the people who use this material isn't treated with more respect.
Then there's stuff like the recent revelations that our government is out and out spying on us. Whether you use a phone, email a friend, or read a book they're keeping track. I guess 9/11 really did change everything: it changed us from a democracy to a dictatorship overnight. Of course the government has to keep its activities secret from the public.
Even if we can justify to ourselves the collection of such data, it is inevitable that it will be misused by those who have access to it, revealed to the public by their incompetence, or hacked by those to whom it is an irresistable lure. The mere existence of such databases are a clear and present danger to all of us.
It seems like there are more and more secrets out there, and they make us more and more at risk. It used to be if you were going to be robbed, at least they had to take it from you directly. Now they can just assume your identity and steal from you without your even knowing about it.
We keep our secrets in hopes of making ourselves feel more secure and in control. Ironically, they make us more vulnerable and at the mercy of those who discover them.
# posted by newbie @ 5:25 AM 
