As valued as privacy is, how have George Orwell’s warnings from the past been so neglected? 1984 by George Orwell has gained the attention of the masses in recent years due to its increasingly accurate message on government invasion of privacy. With the citizens of the “land of the free” questioning if they are as free as they should; these warnings become increasingly relevant to the modern world. Orwell set out with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of government invasion of privacy and unfortunately we as a people did not listen. With startling accuracy Orwell predicts many tactics used by government agencies today to invade the privacy of the very citizens they are sworn to protect. He warns of the dangers of how advancing
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American citizens in particular have become desensitized to the notion of unrestricted government activity. Lewis Beale from CNN states in one of his articles, “Edward Snowden…revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make” (Beale 1). Phone conversations once thought to be private between two parties are no longer so due to NSA snooping. Readers of 1984 will quickly associate this with the book as citizens no longer feel safe in areas once thought to be private without the thought of someone else listening to their conversation. Another freedom we have sacrificed is everywhere we go in the modern world requires us to distribute information about ourselves. Beale also states in the same article, “and it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home number and zip code as part of a transaction” (Beale 1). Something as trivial as going to the store now requires us to release personal information. This is a blatant violation of privacy that Orwell would frown upon today. Access of someone’s information has become a startling easy task that no one even blinks an eye to today. In fact, many don’t even see these as violations of privacy at all. Beale goes on to say, “It seems we’ve willingly given up all sort of freedoms and much of our right to privacy” (Beale 2). The willing sacrifice of
American citizens in particular have become desensitized to the notion of unrestricted government activity. Lewis Beale from CNN states in one of his articles, “Edward Snowden…revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make” (Beale 1). Phone conversations once thought to be private between two parties are no longer so due to NSA snooping. Readers of 1984 will quickly associate this with the book as citizens no longer feel safe in areas once thought to be private without the thought of someone else listening to their conversation. Another freedom we have sacrificed is everywhere we go in the modern world requires us to distribute information about ourselves. Beale also states in the same article, “and it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home number and zip code as part of a transaction” (Beale 1). Something as trivial as going to the store now requires us to release personal information. This is a blatant violation of privacy that Orwell would frown upon today. Access of someone’s information has become a startling easy task that no one even blinks an eye to today. In fact, many don’t even see these as violations of privacy at all. Beale goes on to say, “It seems we’ve willingly given up all sort of freedoms and much of our right to privacy” (Beale 2). The willing sacrifice of