The main idea of the essay
The topic of the essay by Solomon Lawrence is the issue that bothers the majority of people in the modern world. It is the issue of collection and storage of personal data as viewed from the point of view of invasion in the private life of a very single person. The purpose of the author of this essay was to examine the invasion of the state into the private life of its citizens, to consider the possibility of the creation of the police state, and also to attempt to find the situations when too much privacy is bad for people and state interference serves certain social purposes. This can be seen from the whole essay as far as the author busies himself with the cases when state invasion into privacy can help solve crimes and regulate social relations, for example, cut the number of road accidents using video cameras to watch the roads and actions of pedestrians. T
The main idea of the essay is the consideration of all the arguments of all sides concerned with the issue of invasions of privacy. The idea is expressed partially explicitly, and partially implicitly. Explicitly because we have a thesis statement that reveals the problem in general. It is in the first paragraph of the essay and reads s follows: “With vast computer network databases storing detailed information about our private lives, many of us are becoming uneasy about invasions of privacy.”
The essay tells the reader about the issues of privacy invasions in various spheres of life. The authors state that all people face unauthorized intrusion in their privacy, and as London Sunday Times said, the personal data of anyone can be bought at any time for only £150. The author also describes possible ways in which invasions into privacy can prevent the commission of crimes and save innocent people from being unfairly convicted. In this respect, special attention is paid to the use of genetic data, that sometimes must be accessed but only according to the person’s consent.
The usage of facts in the essay is proper. For example, the information given in the 2nd paragraph of the essay illustrates the situation specifically and gives a clear view of the problem: “That same year the London Sunday Times reported that the contents of anyone’s electronic health record could be purchased on the street for £150.” The use of opinion in the essay is also proper but leaves certain space for discussion as other people can have other opinions and support them with a different interpretation of the same arguments that are used by Lawrence. The opinion can be found for instance in the 13th paragraph: “The very database networks that some fear will usher in the police state, in the end, are the best protection against it.”
The writing style of the essay
The essay under consideration concerns the topic that becomes more and more important with the development of modern technology. The invasion of state into privacy through the use of digital data collection and storage arise much controversy, and due to this, the essay is quite relevant to the topic and the needs of modern society in respect of privacy defense. The author presents specific evidence and examples to support his point of view but also considers the opposing points of view. The data from research and statistical sources also add to the credibility of the essay and create the impression of an academic essay which it is. Special attention is paid to the privacy invasions that can help develop a society without crime. Lawrence’s essay looks directed to reflect the topic to which it is dedicated so the relevance of the essay should not be doubted. These ideas seem to influence public opinion and more and more people support the limited but still existing state interference into private life.
As for the completeness of the essay, to my mind, it is quite complete because the author uses arguments from both sides, i. e. those that support the invasion of privacy and those that oppose it. The ideas to support the invasions are concentrated around the use that these privacy invasions can have for society, fighting crime and curing diseases. The author also agrees that the invasion without limits is not good and can not be accepted because it contradicts basic human rights and freedoms. The example with the freedom of speech is used to speculate on the necessity of implementation of special laws and restrictions that will regulate the state invasion into the private life of its citizens. These points allow the society to be more aware of its privacy rights, regulate its relations with the state and inside of it between its members.
Concerning the tone of the essay by Solomon Lawrence, it is written in a rather conversational manner but with the wide use of terminology and specific vocabulary relevant to the topic, like for instance the following terms “privacy intrusion”, “private information misuse”, etc. The combination of the two above mentioned styles is used by the author to create the impression of a direct conversation with the readers that promotes the success of the essay and increases its possible influence upon its target audience because an appeal to the readers has always been the best method to get them interested in the topic. The tone nevertheless seems confident and persuades the readers that the author is right in his opinion. That is why they also should stick to this point of view.
As for the use of facts and opinions in the essay, it seems to be properly conducted which is proved by the presence of specific examples to support all the points of view expressed in the essay and the factual basis to the essay that is properly cited. Opinions look in place in the essay although they can arise much more controversy than the facts given. People can draw different conclusions from the same facts; that is why their opinions can be different based on their preferences. Nevertheless, opinions expressed in the essay are quite credible and tend to persuade readers in their correctness, thus changing the social attitude towards the issue of privacy interference and making people more informed about the issue and its solutions.
The issues raised in the essay
The issues that were raised in the essay by Solomon Lawrence have provoked a lot of controversy in society and my mind as well. The problem of interference of the state into the private lives of its citizens has been burning for society since the concept of human rights and freedoms became important and major in it. That is why with the technological progress, this issue acquired more importance as the state got more means to control citizens while at work, in the street, at home, or even in bed. My point of view as to this issue will be presented in the following paragraphs.
As far as technological progress can not be stopped, with time more and more means to control people and gather information about their social and private life. I think that this tendency is negative on the whole, although certain positive sides of it can also be noticed. But I do not support the extent to which state invasion has increased over the past few years. Probably, this was caused by the need to strengthen control over people and secure the safety of people in front of the terrorist danger. Even if so, certain limits of invasions into privacy must be set to determine the area where people can not be afraid of somebody’s knowledge of their personal information or the data that they do not want to make public.
I do not support the idea of access, though limited, to the genetic information of people, expressed in the essay by Lawrence. To my mind, the possible help of this step in respect of fighting with a crime is very vague while the chance that personal, namely genetic, information of a person will be freely accessed by all people who want to see it is much more evident. There is little guarantee that the state will assure the proper control over the system of collecting and storing personal information, even if respective laws and restrictions will be adopted. The state can not control the actions of criminals who, if the law will regulate access to personal information, will find ways to access them. Lawrence himself reports that even the Internet site of the Pentagon is every year attacked by unauthorized users who get access to confidential information.
Another point that came to my mind after reading the essay is that people who carry out control over the population of the country using privacy invasions can be prejudiced or have their interest in mo0nitoring or non-monitoring this or that person. Thus, privacy invasions can prove to be of little efficiency in fighting terrorism as far as those who plan some unlawful actions can often find opportunities to escape from monitoring and invasions in their private affairs using bribery or hiding from authorities.
Thus, even limited and regulated by law, invasions of the state into the private lives of its citizens bring much more negative results than positive. That is why, to my mind, the invasions should be claimed as unlawful and any personal information should be regarded as the private property of the person.
Works Cited
Lawrence, S. Too Much Privacy Can Be Hazardous for a Person. The Next City. 1998.