In America, privacy—along with the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, the right to due process (a person’s legal rights), and the right to own property—is an important “civil liberty,” a right that protects a citizen from the U.S. Government. As such, Americans value their privacy, often because their privacy ensures that they can make the choices they want to make without others discovering these decisions. As a result, Americans don’t usually discuss private matters, such as their personal problems, their finances, their health concerns, or their political, religious, and sexual orientations with people they don’t know well.
More specifically, because of the growing phenomenon of identity theft, many Americans are private about and careful with their financial information and their Social Security numbers (also known as “SSN”). As a result, some Americans won’t give out their SSNs, especially to people who email or call them requesting such information. Other Americans check their credit histories annually to make sure that no one has violated their financial privacy or, worse, stolen their identity.
Americans also expect that their health histories will also be kept private. Recently, TV networks have exposed how some insurance companies have put customers’ health records online, thus compromising their confidentiality and exposing their customers to identity theft and other concerns, including an employer learning that his employee has psychiatric problems and, therefore, may be unfit to work.
Since more than half of all Americans vote during national elections, they also expect that their political choices will be private. Typically, at voting locations across the U.S., each individual has an opportunity to submit a secret ballot, which ensures that a voter makes his choices without pressure or intimidation. The voter either goes into a booth that’s covered by a curtain or stands in front of a table that has barriers on both sides that prevent others from peaking at the candidates he is selecting or the propositions he is voting for. Given that elections are almost always held using secret ballots, if an American businessman has clients who usually support Republican candidates and he prefers Democratic ones, his right to privacy means that his clients won’t be able to find out about how he voted, and therefore, won’t lead to a rift between him and them.
Perhaps the most significant challenge to Americans’ privacy has been the USA Patriot Act, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.” In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, this Act increased the power of U.S. law enforcement agencies like the FBI to search otherwise private telephone, email, health, financial, and other records. This Act also expanded the definition of “terrorism” to include domestic terrorists. Some Americans feel that this Act weakened Americans’ civil liberties and that the Bush administration used fear tactics to promote their intrusive agenda, including spying on U.S. citizens.
In sum, privacy is a touchy (calling for tact, care, or caution) subject in the U.S. Consequently, if you’re from another culture and ask an American a question that he feels invades or violates his privacy, you might not get a response or, if you do, a very curt (short) one. To avoid such a situation, here are some examples of questions that you shouldn’t ask because they might annoy, offend, even anger, an American who values his privacy:
- Financial: “So how much do you make at that company? If you get promoted, how much more would you earn?”
- Health: “Is it true that you’ve experienced bouts of depression and now take medication for this condition?”
- Political orientation: “Did you vote for Obama or McCain?”
- Sexual orientation: “Your brother isn’t gay, is he?”
- Racial: “Do you think that Blacks get ahead faster here than whites?”
- Religious: “I heard that Jews control this business. Don’t you agree?”
- Personal: “How did your daughter do on her SATs?” Or, “Does your husband drink a lot?”
You can quote from this article. And if you do, please tell them you got it from Fast Track English：
Fast Track English [http://www.fasttrackenglish.com/]
A link to this article：
http://www.fasttrackenglish.com/American_Culture/Article-748.shtml