Following Mae's kayaking incident, Eamon Bailey decided to make it an example of why SeeChange is such a great idea. Eamon discussed with Mae how she would share her experience with kayaking and the consequences she faced from poor judgement. In front of almost all circlers, Mae developed three phrases that would follow her all throughout her career at the circle: Secrets are lies, privacy is theft, and sharing is caring. It was during this presentation that Mae's transparency was inevitable and she was not given the option to express her true feelings towards it.
Mae was now expected to wear the SeeChange device every day, all day until 10pm; where SeeChange was optional. She was one of two people that participated in SeeChange at the circle. People from all around the world would now she what Mae did everyday. They would see what she ate, where she went, and who she spoke to. Essentially, everything that was in Mae's vision was now visual to anyone who who wanted to see. I think transparency at a whole is depriving of one's own right to privacy. With SeeChange, a person is not given the right to do anything they desire to do privately. Privacy is a part of being human. A person's life is not meant to be shared with everyone; it is a privilege that needs to be earned. In the story, Mae says that "She relished being where she was, visible like this, a conduit like this, a guide to her watchers, but this responsibility, this unnecessary intrigue, it crippled her" (Eggers 326). With SeeChange comes a great deal of responsibility that can eventually become too overwhelming. At this moment for Mae, after she had received a message from Kalden, it became so overwhelming that she had no idea what to do. The responsibility of always worrying about people other than herself took a toll on how Mae lived he life.
Going transparent was virtually destroying Mae from the inside out. A person is supposed to live their life without worrying about being judged or questioned. In today's society, people who are afraid of being judged do things they do not want to do or do not do things they enjoy. For example, Mae had "..done without things she didn't want to want. Things she didn't need. She'd given up up soda, energy drinks, processed foods" (Eggers 331). Although the things Mae had given up may not have been good for her heath wise, if she enjoyed them, then she should not let what other people think affect how she lives. Transparency gives people an even bigger opportunity to be judgmental towards one another. The irony in that is that people are using SeeChange as another set of eyes but also as a means of getting to know somebody. However, that can't occur if the person is not being true to who they are. One of my favorite quotes is "let whoever think what ever, just keep getting better" - Anonymous.
A personal life and a work life are meant to be separate from each other. Often times when the two get mixed up, complications arise. Transparency for Mae will, in the end, destroy her.
Your post is very thorough and it really makes you think about the difficulties of compartmentalizing both work and a personal life. You bring up some great points about SeeChange, and how it is turning Mae into a new person, for better or for worse.
ReplyDeleteYpur articulation for the blog was perfect. I loved your take on transparency and how you used it to give the message that one should do whatever one wants to without being afraid to be judged
ReplyDeleteFist of all I love your title, im assuming its a refernce to the song? But I agree with you when you say that Mae is beginning to question things in her life that a normal person shouldnt have to question. Living a life not knwoing what to do and becoming so overwhlemed that a simple message sets you in a spiral, that is not a life at all.
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