Do You Bathe In Public

If you take a bath in public you can’t complain that the neighbors are watching you.  Every person has a different tolerance level for what they are willing to reveal to their neighbors.  Most people probably take a bath inside their own home, usually with the blinds closed, the door shut and some may even lock the door. All matters of privacy are similar. It may be available but requires some effort to protect.

The right of privacy is protected in the US legal framework, in the Constitution and in other laws. The constitution, although not explicitly protecting a right of “privacy,” implies the principle in the Fourth Amendment by stating “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” Although other case law has now recognized a “right to privacy” in other contexts, it is probably not what most people think of when they think of privacy. And other laws, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and others, require mandatory disclosure of private, personal information when we engage in certain conduct.

Thus, like many other rights, we must both take affirmative steps to protect what privacy we have, avoid involuntary or mandatory disclosures whenever possible and encourage the ability of the individual to decide for themselves what information they will or will not air to the neighborhood.

Privacy has a price. Each person must evaluate what level of privacy is appropriate for their own lifestyle, then decide what price they are willing to pay in time, effort and expense in securing their own desired level of privacy.  How much of your bathing do you want to shield from your neighbors and what are you willing to do for that privacy?  A complete strategy for protecting your privacy, which can be important for saving money on taxes, can be found in the book How To Vanish.