The debate over personal privacy has raged violently, ignited in part by Edward Snowden’s revelations of the extent of NSA surveillance over the unwitting public. In response to those who claim that the issue has nothing to do with them, Snowden has said that, “Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say, or freedom of the press because you have nothing to write.”
This simple comparison strikes at the very heart of the privacy debates, revealing the pervasive attitude towards privacy in our culture, an attitude that Snowden has been doing his utmost to fight. Denying a need for privacy because you have nothing to hide and attacking those who call for it because you assume they must have something to hide reveals a mindset that thinks of privacy as a privilege that the government can take away if absolutely necessary for security. If we ourselves do not feel affected by governmental supervision, we tend to be more than happy to let them do so.
Through comparing privacy to freedom of speech or the press, Snowden reveals the key mental distinction for most of us between privacy and freedom of speech. Privacy is perceived an optional benefit that is nice to have, but not really necessary or in any way fundamental to a democratic republic. Everyone at least claims to embrace the right to freedom of speech, and many of the ways such freedom is nuanced and limited in our society is forgotten as we proclaim an unbreakable standard that must never be violated. In other words, we are willing to say nothing when the government violates our privacy in the interests of the nation’s security, but refuse to allow it to prohibit us from speaking our mind.
In our society we have built our lives on the opposite notion, that somehow the government is responsible for all of society except those powers specifically left to the people.
To conclude, privacy is the last barrier for the supreme nanny state to surpass as it continues to control more and more. Snowden reminds us that privacy is not an optional extra that doesn’t affect our lives, but a fundamental right that the government has no right to take away. Injustice is injustice, regardless of whether we ourselves feel personally affected or not, and we must stand fast.
