When I was little I was a very quiet kid. Hardly said a word, but super observant. Using the things I'd discovered and putting them to use when necessary. They were sort of like armor for me to avoid having to talk all the time. A little whisper here and there, saying the right words or doing the right things at the right time and things would fall in place. At times it felt like magic. But then as I grew older it wasn't so easy to know everything, and people in my life got more and more unpredictable. Eventually I had to start talking because I realized that a lot of times if you don't talk you may not get what you deserve. Especially here in my country, without a voice people will want to use and even oppress you. You need to speak out to avoid such situations.
It was not all smooth sailing, but somewhere along the line I found my voice and also a lot more self confidence than I had in the past.
Then there's privacy. The desire to live a life of privacy came to me naturally. I'm not very sure how private my dad is, but I'm guessing I got that from him because my mum isn't someone that's very private. Oftentimes I find myself wincing unconsciously whenever I'm with her and she's sharing a bit too much.
Since I was already very quiet It was very easy to keep things private. Privacy can be a very powerful tool. When everyone knows everything going on in your life, it can be very easy for someone to disrupt it if they ever feel the need to. Over here, a lot of people know this and we value privacy a lot. There's even this ritual we do whereby whenever we're traveling abroad we don't tell anyone who's not very close to us so as not to jinx it.
From this little backstory I'm sure you can see the dilemma I was faced with when I saw the hive learners topic. Freedom of speech or privacy? I had to sit and think really hard, but I think I found what was best for me. And that turned out to be the right to privacy.
I can't imagine living in a world where I can't have my own privacy. First off, Imagine being in the toilet and anyone can just walk in (anyone but your love interest). How does that feel? That's exactly what a life without privacy feels like. Even when there's nothing in particular to hide, it just feels better not knowing that there's someone who's watching you. I'm someone who feels uncomfortable when someone is looking at what I'm doing on my phone (even when I'm not hiding anything),so of course a world without privacy will be a living hell.
A world without freedom of speech on the other hand, is something I can work my way through. I have lived the life of the quiet kid before, and it's something I can do. I may not enjoy it, but I can do it at least. You don't always need to talk to get your point across. Haven't you heard of the saying
Actions speak louder than words.
A carefully and well thought out action could do a lot more than a few words. Moreover I actually feel I've grown a lot smarter and am probably better at using info to my advantage. So yes if there was ever a need to make such a choice, I'd choose the right to privacy over the right to Freedom of speech.
~THANKS FOR READING~