Hackers Threaten Civil Liberty, Protect Against Hypocrisy

Last July, the media and sadists alike feasted with glee on the news of the Ashley Madison data breach. Spectators gathered around the globe to watch the outed immoral cretins registered to Ashley Madison get their just desserts. What followed was a slow burn of extortion emails, resignations, linked government officials, suicides, and revelations of hypocrisy. There has been countless editorials written from either perspective from condemning users to justifying their behavior. 

Although there are people with sympathetic and antithetic views, nothing bridges the gap quite like a loud mouthed Bible-thumper throwing rocks of damnation from within a glass house. Admittedly, infidelity is the least concerning accusation Josh Duggar has had to field, given his penchant for underage girls. Nonetheless, he is the new poster boy for hypocritical mouthpieces that publicly decry the actions they do in private (or so they thought). The question is, how many more reverends, pastors, and politicians need to fall from grace before they learn? 

Right to Privacy is a Civil Liberty. It should be respected and fought for. No matter how benign or non-intrusive the government frames their oversight. No matter how just the Hacktivists say their motives are. Everybody is pushing an agenda and the fact of the matter is the only opinion anyone should have on privacy is that everyone is entitled to it. The only caveat is that you forfeit your right to privacy whenever criminal activity is involved but that is up to the court to decide and for police to employ with a valid search warrant. Otherwise, government should not preempt perceived threats by compromising everyone's right to privacy. 

With Edward Snowden lifting the curtain on Big Brother, the public needs to be reminded that they are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs every time they log online. Regardless of whether the government or hackers play a roll, it should now be more obvious than ever that the internet is not anonymous. If there is any good coming from this news, it is that everyone should follow the golden rule. Treat others the way you'd like to be treated and practice what you preach. There might not be anyone watching now but we can always go back and review the game tape. Having other people's dirty laundry aired out might keep the hypocrites honest.