Let’s talk about privacy briefly. Privacy -- is not just a word. There are a whole complex of conventional views on human life and acceptable norms of behaviour behind it. These views and norms define how we can act and speak and how we can’t, what is good and what is bad. In the legal meaning privacy -- is a set of laws regulating relations between citizens and a state. The legal basis of privacy defines your rights and what can be taken away from you and what can’t be. Generally speaking, the conception of privacy has psychological, social and legal aspects. Further I will touch only psychological and social aspects of privacy and omit discussing legal aspects of it. I will rest upon exclusively my individual opinions, individual experience and talk solely with regard to situation in Russian society.
What does lie behind privacy? Speaking in one sentence, the right to be left alone is privacy. It is the right to be staying alone, the right to personal secrets, the right to live your own life. The principles of privacy involve that your private life is respected, that everybody keeps your nose out of it, that nobody discusses your relations with opposite gender and your sexual orientation, that your way of choosing clothes, your opinions, your political convictions don’t cause heated discussion, at least in your presence. From accept of privacy is followed that nobody imposes on you, that your personal space and personal dwelling is respected, that value of your time is unquestionable for people around you and nobody fills it with all sort of trifles. Finally, privacy -- is the right to be one’s own and entirely exercise it.
The term “privacy” doesn't have the adequate translation into Russian that would reflect the deep and versatility of that word. It is simply the effect of the fact that the recognition of the importance of privacy, recognition of the necessity that views lying behind privacy must act a role in human life is absence in Russian society. Why it takes place -- is the separate and complex question. However, it must be realised, that the conception of privacy is specific for the West with its highly developed traditions of individualism and individualistic philosophy. In Russia with our communal mentality, aggravated in the last century by soviet experience, numerous national tragedies and shocks, notorious communal apartments for arising of the privacy conception just there wasn’t the ground. In our traditions deeply and firmly had been implanted the negative implication of the word “individualism” itself as involved egoism, ego-centrism, and heartlessness. But even the superficial acquaintance with the west individualism dispels that idea quickly. In Russia, the collocation “private life” has a sort of diffident shade of meaning and often used to hide behind it some actions not so good from perspective of social morality, though the such reputation absolutely undeserved. Meanwhile, individualism and privacy are inseparably linked with each other, and they can’t exist without each other. Individualism, private life and independence are essential components of privacy. If there isn't the accept of individualism there isn’t any trace of privacy.
Privacy begins from that moment when you begin respect your own right for private life, right to be left alone and right for personal secrets yourself. Didn’t you often meet people shamelessly telling about all their sham and true diseases, all gossips about their acquaintances and friends, all scandals occurred at work, about all quarrels with wife or girlfriend, unpaid penalties, leaked fridge, cat that was born, about that next door guy, the last letter from friend, pretended to be gay so that to appear glamour with imagined delights of imagined same-sex-love? Did you happen to hear that disgusting mix of half-lie and half-truth about oneself, fictions and gossips about others, peppered with own feeble-mind and greed for another's secrets -- only for not to seem dirty oneself on the background of other's dirties? It isn't possible to expect esteem for your own secrets from others if your aren't respect them by yourself. If you expose on global overview your dirty clothes though awkwardly covered by some kind of excuses, you can expect with confidence you will be dresses in those dirty clothes some day. The average man, your so called closest friend, will throw your excuses away and put those dirty clothes on you. And it isn't necessary to say after that he's a gossip. You handed him your own secrets yourself. You aren't better than he is. Don't want to wear dirty clothes? Don't show them to anyone.
The accept of own inalienable right for privacy provides you bullet-proof immunity in our nonsimple conditions of trampling it on almost every move. Do you want to know with what a girl I go out? Do you want to know why I visited a doctor? Or what the last letter from my mom was about? Why I'm laming in the one leg? Or why and when my flat was burnt? Or why my heart is heavy? Just leave me alone. It is no concern of you. It's my life -- not yours. This is my right for privacy.
Respect to own privacy and protection from invasion of other people results in respect to another's privacy. Another man has the same right to be left alone as well as you. Did you see someone you know at the romantic appointment with a beauty girl whereas he's married to another one? Do you suspect he is sick but conceals that? Don't discuss it with colleagues. Did you catch a glimpse of someone's letter? Don't report its contents to all friends by e-mail. Did you see risque photos of your friend in Internet? Don't send the link to them to all your acquaintances. Don't be a gossip so that not to be an object of a gossip. Respect to secrets of others is the back side of respect to secrets of your own.
The starting point of privacy is keeping self-respect. Just begin to respect and protect your own secrets -- all the other is follows from that.
What does lie behind privacy? Speaking in one sentence, the right to be left alone is privacy. It is the right to be staying alone, the right to personal secrets, the right to live your own life. The principles of privacy involve that your private life is respected, that everybody keeps your nose out of it, that nobody discusses your relations with opposite gender and your sexual orientation, that your way of choosing clothes, your opinions, your political convictions don’t cause heated discussion, at least in your presence. From accept of privacy is followed that nobody imposes on you, that your personal space and personal dwelling is respected, that value of your time is unquestionable for people around you and nobody fills it with all sort of trifles. Finally, privacy -- is the right to be one’s own and entirely exercise it.
The term “privacy” doesn't have the adequate translation into Russian that would reflect the deep and versatility of that word. It is simply the effect of the fact that the recognition of the importance of privacy, recognition of the necessity that views lying behind privacy must act a role in human life is absence in Russian society. Why it takes place -- is the separate and complex question. However, it must be realised, that the conception of privacy is specific for the West with its highly developed traditions of individualism and individualistic philosophy. In Russia with our communal mentality, aggravated in the last century by soviet experience, numerous national tragedies and shocks, notorious communal apartments for arising of the privacy conception just there wasn’t the ground. In our traditions deeply and firmly had been implanted the negative implication of the word “individualism” itself as involved egoism, ego-centrism, and heartlessness. But even the superficial acquaintance with the west individualism dispels that idea quickly. In Russia, the collocation “private life” has a sort of diffident shade of meaning and often used to hide behind it some actions not so good from perspective of social morality, though the such reputation absolutely undeserved. Meanwhile, individualism and privacy are inseparably linked with each other, and they can’t exist without each other. Individualism, private life and independence are essential components of privacy. If there isn't the accept of individualism there isn’t any trace of privacy.
Privacy begins from that moment when you begin respect your own right for private life, right to be left alone and right for personal secrets yourself. Didn’t you often meet people shamelessly telling about all their sham and true diseases, all gossips about their acquaintances and friends, all scandals occurred at work, about all quarrels with wife or girlfriend, unpaid penalties, leaked fridge, cat that was born, about that next door guy, the last letter from friend, pretended to be gay so that to appear glamour with imagined delights of imagined same-sex-love? Did you happen to hear that disgusting mix of half-lie and half-truth about oneself, fictions and gossips about others, peppered with own feeble-mind and greed for another's secrets -- only for not to seem dirty oneself on the background of other's dirties? It isn't possible to expect esteem for your own secrets from others if your aren't respect them by yourself. If you expose on global overview your dirty clothes though awkwardly covered by some kind of excuses, you can expect with confidence you will be dresses in those dirty clothes some day. The average man, your so called closest friend, will throw your excuses away and put those dirty clothes on you. And it isn't necessary to say after that he's a gossip. You handed him your own secrets yourself. You aren't better than he is. Don't want to wear dirty clothes? Don't show them to anyone.
The accept of own inalienable right for privacy provides you bullet-proof immunity in our nonsimple conditions of trampling it on almost every move. Do you want to know with what a girl I go out? Do you want to know why I visited a doctor? Or what the last letter from my mom was about? Why I'm laming in the one leg? Or why and when my flat was burnt? Or why my heart is heavy? Just leave me alone. It is no concern of you. It's my life -- not yours. This is my right for privacy.
Respect to own privacy and protection from invasion of other people results in respect to another's privacy. Another man has the same right to be left alone as well as you. Did you see someone you know at the romantic appointment with a beauty girl whereas he's married to another one? Do you suspect he is sick but conceals that? Don't discuss it with colleagues. Did you catch a glimpse of someone's letter? Don't report its contents to all friends by e-mail. Did you see risque photos of your friend in Internet? Don't send the link to them to all your acquaintances. Don't be a gossip so that not to be an object of a gossip. Respect to secrets of others is the back side of respect to secrets of your own.
The starting point of privacy is keeping self-respect. Just begin to respect and protect your own secrets -- all the other is follows from that.
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