Q:
What do Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, Francois Hollande, president of
France and Charles Reilly, Jr., your scribe, share in common?
A. We three have been subjected to
invasions of privacy. Our
communications have been interrupted; we've been spied upon. “Hacking” is not good
by anyone’s standards except for the Benedict Arnolds of our day who pose as heroes
by opening up someone else's mail in the name of transparency.
Spying
is not news of course. Our own National Security Agency (NSA) has been looking
over the shoulders of friends and foe alike since forever. So have the intelligence agencies of
virtually every other nation in this world.
The difference is that here in the good old USA we are better at it
because we have the dollars and the technology to stay ahead of the pack. That
is until we are betrayed by one of our own. Then the whole thing is a pretty
sad mess.
It's
one thing to be linked with Angela and Francois when it comes to being in good
company, quite another to be victimized by having your privacy violated and
having to pay tech people to clear up the damage. Yes, losing my address book
was bad, almost as bad as the insensitivity of my carrier, AOL.com. They
offered no help at all unless I would sign up for a monthly fee looking
forward. As my IT put it to AOL “you are
holding his personal address book hostage; you are blackmailing him.” Words fell on ears that did not hear.
There
is general sadness these days about the loss of “ethics”, “integrity” and
others words that once epitomized quality of life. They are pretty much gone
with the wind. This particular hacking of my computer was a deeper wound
because it came as we were announcing to the world the birth of our first great
grandson, Charles Henry Williamson. As a consequence an exceptionally large
number of people were inconvenienced. Again, I apologize to each of you.
As
for AOL.com., well, you can pretty much read my mind.
