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First of all, it needs to be made clear that it's difficult to understand the title of this post or the contents of it without first watching a video. This video had me in tears, the like of which I haven't cried in a long time. So here it is.
If you've watched the video, I have my own thoughts I'd like to add.
As a dedicated geek, a lot of my thoughts on security are framed by my experience with computers. There is a lot of discussion in technology circles about cybersecurity, and especially privacy. Those who have embraced a digital lifestyle tend to argue that loss of privacy is an inevitable consequence of an increasingly computerised world.
Privacy is an intensely personal form of security, and I believe the hysteria surrounding the protection/erosion of it is largely a projection of the world Eve Ensler was talking about. It isn't about computers. It's about emotions.
Locks, alarm systems and nuclear defences are all physical forms of 'security'. Even the pepper spray in your handbag or the killer karate move you know, while unseen, is still physical. But privacy is an idea. We all have a concept of personal space. Privacy is what happens inside it and we feel insecure if it seems that space is being invaded.
If we seek security above all else, we simply make ourselves insecure in the long run, and surrender our consciousness in the process. Real security, such that it is, comes through connection. Eve talks in the video of a 'shared society'. From my perspective, this is the promise and the potential of the internet. It offers so many ways to connect. If we put aside thoughts of our own 'security' for a moment and move freely through the world, we raise our own level of consciousness and connection as well as that of others.
And for us geeks, instead of arguing for the hollow point that loss of privacy is an inevitable consequence of a more connected lifestyle, don't forget to grieve. Privacy may be an idea, but it is still real, and any loss still hurts. Go to the heart of the pain and embrace the sorrow. Then emerge, more secure for the experience.
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