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Is Our God-Given Right To Privacy
'Impossibilium' by Aimee Stewart
“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”― C.S. Lewis
Why do we care so much about our privacy?
Well, because sometimes we need to simply — breathe.
To just be, be ourself — nothing more and nothing less — with no observer or witness to our story, our secrets and our own life, with no other present, but us — our Self.
And this is not a rejection of the world or antisocial behaviour but a healthy turning inward for self reflection.
But due to the threat of global terrorism there's now a wavering inconsistency growing within the hearts of many, in regards to what’s acceptable in terms of invasion of our privacy. And a call for everyone to expose all and everything about themself, with the faulty argument thrown around that if we have nothing to hide, well then, why should we worry?
There are gaping holes all the way through that argument, however, shredding its viability as the fabric of the destruction of each individuals utter right to privacy.
And the rationale that we can invoke our right to privacy only when we need it is not just unacceptable, it’s totally dysfunctional.
There’s a much deeper global malady here, and it’s creating a gradual desensitisation — a numbing down and a dumbing down — of all humanity, to the fiercely invasive technological machinations of governmental surveillance.
A robust global debate is urgently needed in order to adequately dialogue about, and ultimately resolve, these gross invasions of our personal sanctuaries we’re all now experiencing.
Five Minutes of Fame
“I’m bored with that line. I never use it anymore. My new line is ‘In 15 minutes everybody will be famous.’” — Andy Warhol
Stage-managed self-exposure as a tool of self promotion, publicity and marketing, has become a tool of the entrepreneur intent on wealth, fame, power and glory.
Telling your story to anyone who’ll listen via Instagram shorties, YouTube and other social media forums, or opening your life in a form of reality TV, has deadened the world to what was previously sacrosanct in our lives.
Now allowing their life to become a joke or fodder for gossip for all and sundry, people have thrown away their dignity for what they mistakenly imagine is their 5 minutes of fame.
This craving for power, fame and glory, and for placing the spotlight on your personal business has reached its penultimate pinnacle of ridiculous mundanity.
And it’s time, way over time, to review the whole damn thing.
‘Transparency for the State
And privacy for the rest of us!’— Julian Assange
So yes, the flip-side of this whole right to privacy question is our call for governmental transparency. As opposed to our call for the absolute right to privacy of the individual.
It’s easy to foresee that the argument against our call will be that keeping state strategies secret is needed for the ultimate success of national protection. But that’s another bigger question. This concealing of information relates to both military operations and nationalistic propaganda, in the main.
And also in the context of election strategies.
But in fact utter transparency is the final key to real election integrity, which we see very little of, to none, these days — and that’s an open secret, really.
The closed doors of governmental operations need to be opened wide to allow us a full view inside.
Into what’s really going on.
The Sanctity of Sanctuary
“Sometimes solitude is a real heaven for the tired minds and a marvellous sanctuary for the wounded souls.” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
It’s in our home that we expect and hope for a separation from our work sphere and the wider world of politics. This is our sacred haven, our precious personal environment where we create the space that expresses who we are.
And it’s the space where we create for our self-expression.
Yes, it’s here we can write, read, create art or craft, have private conversations with friends, family and loved ones or paint bizarre nouveau murals on the wall. Hang avant garde paintings in our bathroom no one else understands. Burn aromatic incense by the toilet. Grow feral plants down the sides of all our bookcases. Play loud music no-one else would ever get. And talk baby-talk to our dog, cat or fish.
Smudge the computer with white sage then dance to Florence and the Machine. Pump hand-weights and do a few sit-ups in between writing down our precious thoughts.
Sing depressed songs along with Leonard Cohen, and draw some more studied black pencil lines on our canvas waiting patiently on the big easel near our old wooden desk.
All that.
Where we can wear any old clothes we care to. And lie on our couch in odd positions that relax us best. Watching strange movies that fulfil our hearts longing and desire.
This is how we fill our empty cup again — I know, that old cliché — but yes.
Nexus
“You don’t get to turn someone’s sanctuary into an unsafe space.” ― Darnell Lamont Walker
And we need to actively confront the fierce challenges we now face to this nexus between our home as historically a place of sanctuary and privacy.
Provision of Sanctuary is also a central tenet to a country’s behaviour toward refugees — for those displaced by war and severe strife.
But Sanctuary is also our lifestyle choice needing to be protected as a right.
This need for protection was historically toward dangerous invaders from outside our homes and often our country, but now the risks and very real dangers are coming internally — from marauders within our homelands.
From the governments of no integrity, and any of those others who blatantly disrespect this sacrosanct right.
Sacred Rites
“Home is supposed to be a place of security, the last resort of refuge.” ― Janvier Chouteu-Chando
And in these times where so many have fairly advanced psychic abilities and many use these for the betterment of our world, where others use these as an invasion of the privacy of others, perhaps it’s time to also develop some real ethics and guidelines for the integrity of thought privacy.
What do you think? Far-fetched? There are some who perhaps with good intentions glorify the collective un/conscious now spread like a spider’s web across the planet.
They believe transparency of all our thoughts is a wonderful thing and that no one should believe they have a right to privacy. These are also the same ones who are opaque to the rest of us — those who want us to be an open book to them are a closed book to us. They have the technology to invade every corner of our lives and yet do not give what they take.
They may appear to do so, but mostly that’s in the form of pretty lies and glamorised ‘honesty’ for the sake of fame. We all have a sacred right to privacy, most particularly of our thoughts, our relationships, our expressions of love, our creativity and our personal lives.
It’s all being invaded and recorded, including all our online connections and creative works. This should not be happening. Word/s: respect, request and permission.
Our home should still be our sanctuary.
Because privacy is our sacred right.
Why do we care so much about our privacy?
Sometimes we need to simply just breathe.
To just be, be ourself — nothing more and nothing less — with no observer or witness to our story, our secrets and our own life, with no other, but us, our Self.
Copyright 2020 © Julie Von Nonveiller Cairnes. All rights reserved.
I first published this in MEDIUM on Feb 9 2020, and on FB a few years prior.
None of my messages are about other people (ie 'celebrities' and so on) - no matter what they might think - these come from me, to you my friend, for your soul upliftment
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