Derek Li

Mrs. Farr, English 12 P7.

3/30/2017

1984 Group Essays

Privacy Leads to Better Future

Imagine the world, everyone is living a happy life, naked, being watched through a

large, black telescreen. On the other side, a government agent is watching every

single step people are taking. With no privacy but with no concern because every

citizen has been brainwashed by government's philosophy. This is the life in 1984, a

fiction novel by George Orwell. Problems of such government are exposed

throughout the novel and questions are raised about what lack of privacy can lead

to. Whether one is an in-loved couple who devoted to revolution or an ordinary

citizen who just tries to survive, privacy is always important and necessary just like

one's clothes. Privacy is critical in human society and everyone should respect

others' privacy. Lack of privacy will cause the loss of value of a human being

because they can't express themselves freely. Everyone has a unique lifestyle and

how they make choices is his/her own business. Freedom of thoughts is valuable,

that's what make each human being different. Respect, respect to others' privacy, is

the foundation of a civilization.

Everyone has his/her own way to live, and this is varied by many factors, which will

change one's choice. For example, whether one wants to keep a lie, whether one

wants to tell someone "I love you". All these choices should be kept private. If you

want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself(Orwell, 452). If one can't

choose for his/her own life, what's the pint to be alive? The ability to make

intelligent and reasonable choices is the only difference between humans and
robots. The government or any other individual should not limit one's thought, even

spy on others. However, privacy has been a huge debate in the political world,

especially after the tragedy of 9/11 terrorist attack.

Legislative and Executive branch soon took action to prevent further attacks like

this -- by spying on citizens. In 2012, a leak to the Washington Post by an employee

of NSA(National Security Agency) shocked the whole nation. The employee-Edward

Snowden pointed out that the spying is not only on personal texts but also on e-

mails and computer profiles that are required a search warrant to be accessed by

the police. If they want to find that person who plans to attack the United States,

they can do actual, targeted police work rather than just looking at innocent

peoples email, (Friedersdorf )said Ben Growser, a professor at the University of

Illinois. This is the invasion of privacy, close to the one Big Brother did in 1984. The

government has no legal right to spy on citizens under 1st Amendment of

Constitution. By accessing our information, it equals to accessing our mind and take

control over it eventually.

Freedom of thoughts is as important as freedom of speech and religion. Even more

importantly, thoughts create speech and religion and many ideas that changed

history. It's vital to the development of civilization and humanity. "It was terribly

dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within

range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an

unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself--anything that carried

with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to

wear an improper expression on your face...; was itself a punishable offense

(Orwell 55). In the novel, Big Brother uses everything is available to control people's
thoughts--the thought police, junior spies, telescreens, and public hangings. All

these methods created fear so that people will not fight against the government. As

result, freedom to think is replaced with not thinking at all, thus freedom of speech

and religious were eliminated at the same time. In contrast of real life, North

Korea's and Russia's policies toward personal liberty are great examples.

As the globalization progresses, we hear more and more about what's happening in

North Korea, especially the block of information and control of thoughts. "The North

Korean government enforces loyalty and obedience through its Ministry of People's

Security, which requires citizens to spy on each another, including family members.

Anyone who is overheard saying anything perceived as critical to the government is

subject to a reduced loyalty group rating, torture, execution, or imprisonment in one

of North Korea's ten brutal concentration camps."(Head 1). Similar in 1984, spying is

required among the citizens thus no one can have any thought that will intervene

government regime. As we learn more and more about Korea, we can see how awful

it is to live when the freedom of thinking is taken away. Thinking is important, to

construct a society that is continuing improving.

Respect is the foundation of a functional society. Respect to others' privacy builds

trust among people and people. What was worst of all was that by means of such

organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little

savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the

discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything

connected with it (Orwell 21). As the quote mentioned, an organization created by

the party uses children to spy on their parents. It's shocking to learn that no trust
exists in daily life in 1984, even between kids and parents-the first ones people love

and receive love from.

People lost trust and get anger if their privacy is ignored by others, especially

government officials. One looks back in history, disrespect had caused a lot rage

and disappointment in history. However, in the 21st century, privacy concerns

more and more people as the tech knowledge advances. "People have almost no

faith in either their government or corporations to protect their privacy, the survey

indicated. When asked 'Who do you trust more to protect your privacy

government or private corporations,' a full 88 percent picked the third option

'neither.' "(Sulivan). As the survey conducted by NBC indicates, people lost trust in

their government because the invasion of privacy had happened too much. How

can people teach their children not to lie when they themselves don't trust anyone?

But, some people may think that a dictatorship, a government like big brother will

result in a happier society because the citizens don't need to worry about anything,

as long they have food and a house to live in. In exchange for privacy, people can

live better lives. For example, Karl Marx's communist Manifesto is a great textbook

example of a perfect society -- everyone is equal, no secret and everyone shares

goods and products with a central government controlling every aspect of life. As

history proves, such government is not working as nobody can have a unique idea

that may be better for the society to grow and develop. All the tech knowledge

came from a flash of ideas that will be useless without privacy. The security of our

thoughts is important, it's necessary, it's what make our lives different.

People want privacy, it's not because they are are not willing to share, but because

they need it to protect themselves. Everyone is a unique individual who has

different faiths and lifestyles, people needs privacy to make their own choices.

People need privacy to secure their freedom of thoughts to express what they think

is right, for themselves or the society as a whole. People need privacy to obtain

trust, no one wants to be a nefarious malefactor because they didn't get respect

from others. Privacy is critical for a human being to maintain liberty and justice.

Bibliography

-Friedersdorf, Conor. Edward Snowden or the NSA: Who Violated Your Privacy

More? The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 8 July 2014,

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/edward-snowden-or-the-nsa-who-

violated-your-privacy-more/374066/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

-Head, Tom. What Are the Human Rights Violations in North Korea? ThoughtCo, 19

Feb. 2017, www.thoughtco.com/human-rights-in-north-korea-721493. Accessed 30

Mar. 2017.

-Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New American Library, 1977.

-Sullivan, Bob. On Privacy, Talk and Actions Are Poles Apart. NBCNews.com,

NBCUniversal News Group, 19 Oct. 2006,

www.nbcnews.com/id/15221100/ns/technology_and_science-privacy_lost/t/privacy-

talk-actions-are-poles-apart/#.WN3GyPkrKM8. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.