Paul Roberts wrote recently in the Daily Bell , commenting on many subjects concerning our times , I'm quoting him word for word as in my opinion , it fits very well with my humor and reflections after a series of flights and travels lately that took me half way across the world .
When one flies today , unless one stops up one's ear with something , one hears one's seatmates conversations prior to take off and immediately upon landing , literally everyone is talking nonstop .
What happened to America , ( and the world ) , that no one can any longer go anywhere without constant talking . One wonders how the economy functioned at such a high level of incomes and success prior to cell phones , smart phones , I phones , and whatever there is .
Did we get there in Orwell's sense ?? In terms of surveillance technology , we are far beyond Orwell's imagination . In terms of the unaccountability of governments , we exceptional and indispensable people now live a 1984 existence .
In his alternative to the queen of England's Christmas speech , or the U.S president's state of the union speech , Edward Snowden made the point that a person born in the 21st century will never experience privacy . For new generations the word privacy will refer to something old and mythical , like a unicorn .
The notion that telephone calls are private , left Americans' consciousness prior to the NSA listening in . If memory serves me , it was sometimes in the 1990s , when I entered the men's room of an airport and observed a row of men speaking on their cell phones , in the midst of the tinkling sounds of urine hitting water , and noises of flashing toilets .
The thought hit hard that privacy had lost it's value .
The role for a good sequel is that it ups the precedent , the previous adds to my Nov. 28th blog of last year . Again I'm indebted to the insights of Mr. Roberts , for further enhancing our common perceptions about our times . My usual thanks to all .
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