Less Privacy is Good for Us (and You) By: Amitai Etzioni

Make a list of the situations in which Etzioni believes that there are issues of public health and safety that justify the invasion of one’s privacy. In each situation that Etzioni discusses, indicate whether you agree or disagree with his points of view.
In Amitai Etzioni’s article, he discusses how although privacy is not mentioned in the constitution, it is a right that Americans have. The media discusses how our privacy is becoming more and more invaded until we will eventually have no privacy. However, this is unlikely. We will have some privacy, but when it concerns the health and safety of others, invasion of privacy is acceptable. I agree with Etzioni on how less privacy is good for us. The invasion of privacy, I think, is helping the community by ensuring the people their safety.
Etzioni mentions how babies who are born from mothers with HIV can prevent from getting HIV; however, it will invade the mother’s privacy. “Women who are pregnant are recommended to get tested for HIV as part of routine parental care.” (Etzioni par 7) Although mothers do not want to get tested because they are afraid that they will have the disease, it could help prevent their child from getting HIV. “Mother’s who are tested positive are drug addicts and do not show up to prenatal care are often more likely to have HIV.” (Etzioni par 7) If the woman does have HIV, they can prevent the baby form getting the disease by not breast feeding and making sure the baby is given AZT. I agree with Etzioni that if more women took the test, it will prevent babies from getting HIV and that it betters the child’s health. Women are too afraid to get tested, however, when it becomes a health issue, more women should be willing to get tested instead of worrying about their privacy being invaded.
Another example o f invasion of privacy that Etzioni mentions is the use of fake identities. “Wells Fargo is introducing a new device that allows a person to cash checks at its ATM machines because the machines recognize faces.” (Etzioni par 11) This device will be beneficial to public safety because there are many people who are getting away with false identities. “People hired to work in child care schools cannot be effectively screened to keep out child abusers and sex offenders, largely because when background checks are conducted, convicted criminals escape detections by using false identities.” (Etzioni par 14)False identities are costing the United States billions of dollars each year and it is harmful to the society’s safety to allow it to continue. I agree with Etzioni on how the device will help prevent not all, but some false identities being made and it will ensure the safety of others. Although it is an invasion of privacy for someone who wants to move to the United States from a different country that did not have the best record, if the person openly admits they made a mistake in the past and will use their real identity, they will then be allowed to live in the United States. Again, more devices that can be made to ensure the safety of others should allow people to be more supportive of the project because it can prevent someone from getting hurt.

Evolving Opportunities

In this video, there is more information about how Immokalee evolved throughout the century came into play. Immokalee survived the development of the casinos, a bomb training base was turned into an airport, the Deep Rail System was invented, and oil was introduced. The community was still very much involved in agriculture. The farmers not only had cattle ranching, but vegetable farming as well. Some farmers, like Percy Brown, decided to work in vegetable farming because it made more money. This video discussed the hard times in Immokalee, such as the high labor demands and the Freeze of 1989; however, the video also discussed how successful agriculture became. After Fidel Castro took over Cuba’s farming, Florida’s farming business grew and became more successful. Today, farmers believe that the agricultural industry isn’t the same because of the mechanical methods that have come into play, which is replacing the human workers. This is similar to where I grew up in Palm Harbor. Many people were being replaced by machines because the owners didn’t have to worry about paying another employee and work was getting done in half the time.
The Immokalee community represents the New American dream, which is to be able to have a job, to support one’s family, and to be able to accept change. The change that is occurring is the machines that are replacing human workers in the farming industry and it will continue to grow. Ranch owners are worried that they won’t make enough money to support themselves and their families, which is what many families worry about today. While other farmers are worried that they will be replaced by machines because fruit and vegetables can be picked in half the time. Ten years from now, I think more than half of the workers in the farming industry will be replaced due to the mechanical methods that are expanding in the farming industry. I think families, especially parents, worry about being able to support their families financially even more now because of the way the economy is. The New American Dream is to be able to get an education and a job, to be able to pay for necessities, and to be happy. The last part of the American Dream is hard because many people are not happy when they are worried about losing their jobs.

Outposts of Opportunity

Immokalee was once called Golfer Ridge. This area represents opportunities for people because of the variety of animals that live there and the dry land. The community was made up of farmers and the Seminole Indians. This area consisted of owning land, raising cattle, and growing crops. Some people were driven to Immokalee because their homes, like William Allen, were destroyed by a hurricane. Soon Immokalee became a popular location and slowly developed new changes such as the Railroad that was built for trading and transportation, which also helped start the timber industries. Sugar was a popular crop in which pioneers traded in exchange for gun power and clothes. To this day, Immokalee still takes pride in nature such as the wetlands and everglades. When Napoleon Brower became governor in 1905, he prevented the draining of the Everglades because it is an important factor in the economy.

Immokalee represents the Old American Dream because life was simple. Most of the people who lived there bought land, raised cattle, and sold crops. Their life surrounded the care of the environment and how it will provide necessities for their families. It is different from where I grew up because I lived in the suburbs. There wasn’t a lot of land for cattle, or crops, because of all of the new developments in housing, businesses, and highways. I think farming is Immokalee’s future because the area has taken care of the land, raising cattle, and selling crops. Eventually though, I think those who own their own land now will have to sell parts of it in the future because the population is growing. However, I also think Immokalee will be successful in the farming industry because of the weather. Florida has warm temperatures almost year round and, as the video mentioned, people from up north come down to Florida for the warm weather. The farming industry in Immokalee, therefore, has more time to grow and sell then the northern states do.