Conformists will always excuse governmental surveillance with the assertion that they have “nothing to hide.” Naturally, if you are comfortable being part of the herd, then sheep like you will never keep anything from the shepherd. The fact that you voluntarily give up your privacy is merely an act of submission to the bureaucrats. A citizen under observation will always remain politically correct. Having nothing to hide from the authorities means being forced to live an existence of complete subservience.
American democracy is designed to keep a closer watch on its citizens than even Stalin could have imagined. The KGB kept files on every citizen not to protect them from foreign infiltration, but to keep the natives obedient. Governmental scrutiny is never devised to keep citizens safe – but bureaucratic surveillance is always done to ensure compliance. The security agencies keep watch on you not to prevent harm, but to secure your conformity.
If the special agents are going to keep you under constant surveillance like a dangerous criminal, then you damn well ought to become a dangerous criminal just to spite the authorities. What the government fears most is that you might actually be keeping some secrets from the bureaucrats. If the officials are terrified that you might actually be hiding something, then you need to start concealing information out of basic self-defense. Privacy is a matter of self-respect.
Keeping your mouth shut reduces governmental persecution. Make no mistake about it, cops have it in for you. The police will use anything that they can against you. The government will use its records and recordings in order to put you behind bars. Justifying yourself to the officials will only get you prosecuted. A guy who wants to tell his story to the police always ends up getting convicted. Explaining your side of events will only put you in prison. A free man somehow always manages to keep from saying anything to the authorities.
Secrecy separates you from the rest of society. Just as a gentleman does all his defecating behind closed doors, privacy keeps other people from laughing at your all-too-human weaknesses. Secrecy creates a boundary between the individual and society. Privacy distinguishes you from your neighbor. A man who keeps things private ends up keeping boundaries. Furtiveness creates a barrier between you and the in-group.
Privacy increases liberty. The difference between a free man and a slave is the ability to keep secrets. A captive has no privacy from the overseer. The master will always end up knowing everything about his chattel. Secrecy emancipates you from society. There more that you manage to keep hidden, the more liberty you manage to retain from totalitarian society.
The act of concealment gives you depth. Deep, dark secrets will give you a certain nobility of character. A man who hides stuff knows something. An individual with secrets realizes that other people cannot be trusted with such information. A man of substance is comfortable with keeping things confidential. Remaining closed-mouth makes your thinking more vehement. A wise man always holds stuff back.
Secrecy adds meaning to life. Just as a handgun isn’t much of a weapon until you load it with ammunition, privacy does not exist until you have something to keep private. Furtiveness does not make you mysterious, but molds you into an individual of consequence. Keeping secrets will give your life a sense of purpose – your ultimate duty becomes the prevention of others from discovering just what you have hidden away. Secrets are the only thing that might allow you to face the entirety of daily existence.
Privacy enhances an individual’s personality. Secrets simply end up making your personality more intense. A man with secrets knows the value of things: other people are a liability. A man who keeps things hush-hush does not give in. A man with secrets has treasures that he will not share.
Privacy helps you to isolate yourself from being contaminated by the social group. Once a nosy altruist starts to ask you questions about your past, you will never trust other people again. Possessing secrets will ultimately force you to keep to yourself. To confide in another human being is to give away part of your independence. The more secrets you have, the more solitary you become.
Even if you actually have nothing of significance to keep secret, then you really should go commit something. If you have nothing to keep private, then you need to go out and engage in an act that you do not want to reveal to anyone. If you have nothing to conceal, then get out and perpetrate something. The more you come to realize your true desires, the more that you will want to keep hidden.
A citizen with nothing to hide is not worth knowing. A man whose life is an open book isn’t a complete human being. An outgoing person is spiritually empty. A gregarious fellow simply has no soul. Once the authorities have captured your entire life in a dossier, your inner spirit is dead.
Naturally, the most certain way to keep your secrets is to keep to yourself. If you aren’t a loner, then your life is, somehow, incomplete. If you don’t live a solitary existence, then you are missing-out on everything that this world has to offer. Only a lonely man can ultimately prevail against the establishment.
Recalling.... Having read this post a few days ago and the following reminded me of it....
ReplyDeleteHaving had (too many words) a couple of whiskeys and a beer, I randomly opened Anathemas and Admirations....and found the following....
No use counting on the windfall of being alone ー always escorted by oneself!
〜Emil Cioran
"Make no mistake about it, cops have it in for you. The police will use anything that they can against you."
ReplyDeleteRaised by parents, school and TV on the false notion of the lawful policeman, the allegedly trustworthy protector of neighborhood, I had to learn this one the hard way while still a highschooler.
Unwarranted question is an assault.
ReplyDelete