Somebody’s Watching Me

There’s nothing worse than having the feeling that someone is watching your every move.  I’m not all that paranoid under most circumstances.  Being a work at home mom means that no one would be interested in how I spend my day.  Right?

The movies, the news, and the internet show pictures of ordinary citizens being watched.  It’s unnerving, uncomfortable, and just not right.  One picture I saw was of some poor soul sunbathing topless on her private balcony.  It gave me shivers because I don’t know a woman out there who hasn’t done something along those lines at some point and time.  It never occurred to me that some crazy person might be watching from the sky.    When I moved out of my parents’ home, I also gave up everyone’s right to spy on me.

These are bad times with bad people trying to kill some of the ordinary citizens.  The government is doing what it thinks it must do in order to make life safe.  The trouble comes when these powers are used for evil and not good.  Even worse, when the powers are hijacked by outsiders who have no morals or scruples or anything concern about anyone other than themselves.

There has to be a way to balance the interest of security with the right to privacy.  I just don’t know if it will ever be attained.

 

 

Google Is Taking My Peace

The tax appraiser can by our house to take pictures.  She told me that they would be put in our public records - which any citizen can freely access.  It was a shock to her that I didn’t WANT pictures of my home available to the world.  Her counter was that if someone really wanted to know about my house, they could find it on the internet.

The scary part about my confrontation was that she was right.  As technology continues to get more advanced, my private information becomes less private.  We live in the country - way in the country.  A few years ago, it would have been nearly impossible to find us unless you knew us.  Now, with a few clicks of the mouse, a person can see the layout of our home and even monitor our comings and goings.

Knowing that “Big Brother” could be watching is unnerving enough.  Having the additional awareness that the guy that stalked me for two years after we first got married can see me is much worse.

I want the advancement of technology because of the wonderful things it can do for society.  At the same time, I long for the days when my business was mine alone.  Can a balance ever be found?