We have been blessed in our lives with the amount of freedom we have. Throughout history many people did not share the same freedoms that we do now.
But just because we have it, doesn’t mean it will stay. Our freedoms need to be protected.
The biggest reason we teach online privacy and security, is because it protects people’s individual rights and freedoms. Without privacy, there can be no freedom.
If you have read my articles before, you’re probably aware that you are being constantly tracked by big tech companies and the government.
If that doesn’t scare you, that means you have gotten too comfortable with your freedom.
So let me take you through a hypothetical:
What would it be like if you lived in a totalitarian government with the level of technology that exists today?
Well let’s start off with an explanation of what totalitarianism is:
According to Britannica “Totalitarianism is the form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of state.”
In a Totalitarian government, the goal is absolute power. They do this by centralizing all of their power and taking it away from their citizens. Any opposition, whether it would be social or political is suppressed through coercion, violence, and manipulation.
Social institutions and organizations are discouraged and suppressed. This leads people to adopt the totalitarian state’s ideology even faster. Once this happens, individualism dies and is replaced by mass conformity.
Some examples of totalitarian leaders are Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini.
A common trend of totalitarian leaders is having a scapegoat, or a common enemy. Hitler had the Jews as an enemy. Stalin had the kulaks.
So, let’s imagine that this was going on today. Let’s say you were Jewish, in Germany, and Hitler has risen to power. You would have nowhere to run or hide. Your bank accounts would be drained, anyone you contact digitally would be punished, electric vehicles would not drive you, and your location would be tracked at all times.
Let’s say you were not a target scapegoat, but a “regular” citizen of this society. The cameras and microphones in your devices would always be listening to you. You could not speak out in any way or form, even behind closed doors. The less you complied, the more you’d be punished. There would be no hope for individual freedom.
If people would even attempt a revolution, the government would know. They would round up the “dissidents” and execute them before anything could happen.
I know this is a really scary future to imagine, but it is one that we have to consider. With technology becoming so powerful and invasive, we need to understand the implications of it falling into the wrong hands.
Now is the perfect time to learn how to be private and secure. Because we still have our freedoms.
Privacy is more than just protecting embarrassing secrets. It is the core of who you are and the freedoms that you have.
I hope you liked this article. Please share our blog with your friends and family.
Thank you!
Eric Meder