On January 20th, 2009, when Barack Obama takes his oath of office and becomes the first African-American President in American History he will also surrender his best friend.
How is that fair? Why should the man that is bringing the greatest change this country has seen since the advent of Cellular Technology have to give up his best friend in order to preside over our great, free nation? Well, it turns out Barack Obama's best friend is not a person. His best friend has been known to wreak havoc on thumbs across the world while remaining in the pockets of its owners. Barack Obama's best friend is something that a President simply is not allowed to have: a blackberry.
Before reading these article on CNN.COM and YAHOO.COM respectively:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/17/obama.blackberry.ap/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_blackberry_3
I had never considered the fact that the President cannot even use e-mail or personal phones. The reasoning behind this ban is for two main reasons.
1.There are security concerns. Having a mobile device like a Blackberry would be a security hazard as it may lead to electronic tracking of the President.
2. Presidents are subject to having their records be subpoenaed by courts and are subject to public record laws, so all of their e-mails or conversations can be made public. This means that any "BBM'S" (BlackBerry Instant Mesages) or e-mails could be viewed by all of America.
So, why is this important? I believe the importance lies in the biggest forgotten implication of holding the highest profile job in America:" Life is lived in a perpetual fishbowl. For at least the next four years and then to a certain extent for the rest of his life, Obama will live without the slightest bit of privacy. Unlike other celebrity type figures, every one of Obama's actions are subject to public knowledge. Even his new home, the White House, is like a glorified hotel for the first family, with thousands of visitors and employees milling about 24/7.
Obviously, it is difficult to feel any sympathy for the man that was just elected President of America, but it is hard to imagine that by winning the election Obama won the loss of his privacy. Every President, including Obama today, essentially signs over their livelihood in order to become Commander in Chief.
Obama claims he has already brought change to America and now he will have to deal with yet another change in his life...
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I found this rather interesting because I never realized in today's technology how many privacy privileges are taken away. However, I am unsure if you are trying to cause sympathy in the reader and if so is it really possible to make one that sorry for him? I mean it is probably in the best interest for him not to have access to such privacy technologies because if history has shown us anything is that it is not beneficial to have such things. Nonetheless, I am sure presidents 100 years ago did not have to deal with such limitations because the technology simply did not exist. It would be interesting to look up the progressions of the lack of Presidential privacy over the years.
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