Spybook

I have been amused by the recent news stories about the use of Facebook by divorce lawyers. A dream come true with great savings for them. They can spend less money on private detectives. 

Communication is always a multifaceted proposition. Freedom of speech, for instance, means that you may say what you will, but you may also be hurt by what others say to or about you. Bragging about being a weekend drunk may endear you to your brewski brothers and sisters, but it may well come back to haunt you when you apply for a job. 

These are relatively benign aspects of Facebook transparency. Malicious individuals, gangs or governments can have a field day with Facebook information. A rising dictator could use Facebook as well as those who have used Facebook for promoting democracy. Think of what the Nazis or Stalinists could have done with all the information on Facebook.

This perception colors my reaction to the hyped Facebook stock offering. Isn't this a form of conning willing victims of a conformist (potentially Fascist?) system which can be used against them?

I prefer real privacy to diddling my privacy settings on a computer. Discretion is a developed art. Candor and discretion in balance constitute the behavior of a truly civilized human being. For example, while I strongly encourage all LGBTQ people to be candid about their sexual orientation for the sake of raising public consciousness, I would strongly discourage them to be too enthusiastic about involving government and everyone on Facebook in their domestic relationships. Heterosexual marriage as seen on Facebook is hardly inspirational. 

I am heartened by the early decline in value of Facebook stock. I hope this indicates a trend away from mindless mobbing. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was growing up in a mob of conformist robots, conditioned by massive war machines of government. The film Far from Heaven is a wonderful glimpse into that world. Love and peace are all about communication, not mass communication. Enduring love and peace are about the truthful communication of trusting individuals with one another in committed friendship. This is not sustained by announcing feelings and ideas through a megaphone in a public square.