[Occupymendocino] speak out about your privacy

[agnes at mcn.org]

This might be worth reading to appreciate what Edward Snowden has done by
informing us of gov.spying on the Internet.
Agnes

In Orwell's 1984, it is thinking or reflecting on oneself or the state of
the world, outside of the orthodox perspective of Ingsoc that is
considered a crime - or to use Orwell's own term: a thoughtcrime.  The
thought police  are constantly on the watch for any sort of unusual
activity, expression of incredulity at party dogma, hesitation or nervous
tic that might testify to unorthodox thinking. To be orthodox is to eschew
the contemplative life and internalize an embodied fear of the private as
a dangerous and seductive place where crimethink  inevitably occurs. In
Newspeak, (the abbreviated language of Ingsoc, or English Socialism) the
pejorative term used to describe someone who indulges in self-reflection
or contemplation is ownlife.
Of course, as Orwell's cautionary tale instructs us, if we do decide to
put an end to the private sphere, then we will also - and not incidentally
- abolish contemplativeness, self-reflection, friendship, solidarity, love
and solicitude.

To cultivate ownlife requires that there be a private sphere where one can
think outside of the world of Ingsoc (English socialism)or Party
orthodoxy. Such a private sphere simply cannot be tolerated in a
totalitarian surveillance state. It is crucial to grasp that in 1984, it
is not merely the thought police who are on the lookout for unorthodoxy;
it is typically family, neighbors and work acquaintances who watch each
other. In Orwell's totalitarian world, a world that has abolished the
private sphere, everyone is conditioned to be suspicious of everyone else,
and if they inform authorities about the unorthodox behavior of coworkers,
mothers, fathers and children, they are duly praised by Big Brother for
being exemplary party members.