“You think you’re queer? I’m gonna tell you something – we’re all queer” – Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross.
A quote from one of my favorite films got me thinking. If we were all to come out and tell others about our flaws and share our inner secrets, would we then be able to exist with each other on a different level? Would there be less bullshit and more mutual understanding? I would like to think so.
If the recent Wikileaks cables have taught us anything, it is that the truth sometimes hurts and seldom do we want it to be public if we’re not the one controlling it. The same thing has rung true for every time Facebook has reformed their service, exposing people’s personal information.
But where is the harm? More transparency does away with bull. The more we know about each other, the more we can focus on getting things done together without preconceptions. Most of it is are things that just maintain the status quo of a personal image – I passed out drunk and was tagged in Facebook, I was pulled over by the police and my neighbors saw it or I committed armed robbery at 15. I do believe that we have the right to know where our information is stored, but that we should choose to allow it to be published. The same things goes for state and commercial. Now we should prepare for it, willing or unwilling, transparency is what we are facing.
We have made our lives so complex when they could be so much simpler. The truth is: we are all human, we all screw up and eventually someone will find out. Why not spill the beans yourself.
Featured image by Jason Priem
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Forthzine - Jonas Forth 