Most American teenagers have spent an evening dabbling around with a Ouija board. They sit in a dimly lit basement surrounded by tea lights and attempt to “communicate” with spirits. Whenever a bizarre answer is given, the users assume it stemmed from a ghost trying to tell them something or wishing them harm. As stated in Mad Magazine, “If there really is an afterlife, I’ll bet the best way to contact it is through a plastic, mass-produced board game from Milton Bradley!” In all reality, any understandable responses are caused by the ideomotor effect (the effect based on the unconscious due to influence or expectations).
However, many Ouija board users still believe that they are communicating with the deceased instead of just playing a game.
People are just disillusioning themselves into thinking they are doing something surreal and terrific. It’s a lie. They are playing a game. Similarly, privacy is another issue that people believe exists. Privacy is just a game people play with themselves; it doesn’t exist.
According to Webster, privacy is defined as “the quality or condition of being secluded from the presence or view of others.” Obviously, unless a person is “a technophobe hermit who pays for everything in cash,” (Plotz 58) that definition does not suffice. People surround each other; they are a natural and principle extension to man’s environment. One cannot walk out his front door towards work without seeing someone.
The Essay on Players And Authors Firmly Believe That Chess Sport Game People
It seems almost like an oxymoron to combine the words mind and sport especially when the 'sport' under consideration is chess. It is difficult to picture the game as a sport when the most physical activity it seems to require is moving the pieces across the board. Recently, though, the Olympic committee voted chess legal for competition in 'The Games.' This acknowledgment of chess as a sport by ...
Another definition states it as “the state of being free from unsanctioned intrusion.” How does one actively define unsanctioned? Who determines what warrants a search? If there is no uniform standard on what can remain private, then privacy (simply stated) does not exist.
For years now, objects and possessions that were thought to be private have become more public. For instance, a standard Google search for “Paris Hilton” yields 17,400,000 results. After Wikipedia and IMDB (including the page specializing on the film One Night in Paris), the third option is to the risqué site www.parishiltonzone.com. The site brags of the best pictures, wallpaper, sex tapes, lyrics, audio, video, and daily news featuring Paris Hilton. A deeper delve into the options prove that many sites contain such content.
Perhaps instances like Paris Hilton’s occur because the heiress desires it; however, little situations like that happen to everyday people as well. Take, for instance, the issue of eminent domain. Eminent domain refers to the fact that the state owns all land within the state; therefore, even if land is deemed as private or a homeowner possesses a property deed, the land can still be appropriated. If the government decides that the land that an individual is living on could better the community as a whole (whether that be for a park, road development, or business complex construction), then the land can be taken. Now, it is not as if the government just annexes the land; after all, that’s not democratic, is it? No, they pay the property owner what should be, in their opinion, fair market value. If and when the owner decides not to sell for that low value (which it usually seems to be), then the government files court action to obtain the property. Therefore, the government appeals to the government in order to obtain something from a relatively defenseless citizen. The zoning laws are changed, and the former homeowner is out on the street. Not even a man’s home is sacred anymore.
The Essay on Provisional Government People Land Peasants
The Provisional Government was only able to satisfy the demanding needs of the Russian people to a small extend. The Provisional Government was not an effective representation of the Russian people, and was nearly as out of touch as the Czar had been, which might explain why it seemed incapable of satisfying the Russian people. The great expectations of Russian people of all different walks of ...
It seems that the only thing that is private anymore is the recipe to Bush’s baked beans. Many companies have taken to installing security cameras to prevent shoplifting and also to secretly spy on their employees despite the fact that “do little to deter crime” (Black 80).
“New computer programs allow people to monitor their spouses’ e-mail or online reading habits” (Kaminer 75).
GPS tracking devices in cell phones allow parents to constantly observe their children’s whereabouts and even driving habits including speed and distance. Credit cards allow people to be tracked as well as any given cell phone. Britain is installing cameras to finally be the Big Brother George Orwell so accurately described it as, while Google has perfected the art of mapmaking which now includes satellite imagery. Why the invasion?
Perhaps they feel better protected when they give some of themselves. The Markle Foundation, as quoted by David Plotz, stated “if the government had been using even basic data-mining techniques before September 11, at least 11 of the hijackers might have been stopped.” However, is a basic assumption provided by a private organization filled with government fallouts a reliable source? People need to actually and actively stop to consider what is happening to them and this country.
Why does privacy evaporate? The answer is simple: fear. Mortals will sacrifice anything when they are afraid. The Cold War serves as an excellent example; people were terrified of the Soviets, Communists, and a nuclear war. ”Duck and Cover” was the anthem. When threatened that life tomorrow may not occur, American citizens allowed many freedoms to be taken. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) ran strong as well as McCarthyism. Communists would never be allowed to overthrow America.
The same was true for September 11. A mere forty-three days after the tragedy occurred, the Patriot Act was enacted. This legislature allowed (allows) the government more power to investigate citizens’ financial transactions, telephone and e-mail communications, and medical and other personal records all for the sake of fighting terrorism. Isn’t it queer how the names of these devices (HUAC and the Patriot Act) sound so red, white, and blue? It seems so unnatural to stand up against an infringement of privacy.
The Essay on Eyes On America Americans Government Privacy
... Since the government has its hands in just about every aspect of life, some people feel very ... liberties. For many Americans the trade for less privacy and more security seems like a reasonable deal ... or terrorist groups, but what about invasion of privacy? Wouldn't that be a violation of our civil ... rate. There is and should be concern about privacy and personal freedom. Especially with the growing use ...
It is unnatural. People tend to fear what they do not understand, and how can they understand what they do not know? The best answer in the minds of many is to alleviate that which they do not know and thus, probe into the deepest secrets each man has until no one possesses what was once known as privacy. It doesn’t exist. It hasn’t existed for a long time and, because man’s ways shall never change, it will never come into existence.