The Magazine August 2013 | Page 10

A 2nd Look

AmeriAmerica Exposed!

Reported by: David Von Drehle, TIMEa Exposed!

Reported by: David Von Drehle, TIME

Privacy is mostly an illusion. A useful illusion, no question about it, one that allows us to live without being paralyzed by self-consciousness. The illusion of privacy gives us room to be fully human, sharing intimacies and risking mistakes. But all the while, the line between private and public space is as porous as tissue paper. The adulterous couple sneaking off to a hotel: Is someone following them? The teenagers skipping school to visit the mall: Will they bump into a woman from Mom’s book club? The solitary motorist thrashing an air guitar at a traffic light: Will the driver in the next lane look over? Like children of a certain age who think closing their eyes will make them invisible, we assume that no one sees or hears our private moments, and we’re right until someone watches or listens.

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/08/01/the-surveillance-society/#ixzz2bDHwh0IY