1. Define the following words as used in the commentary:
autonomy (para. 2)
totalitarianism, insidious, tyranny, siphoning (para. 4)
enmity, brook, incubate (para. 5)

2. Why don't totalitarians want people to have privacy, according to Matt Patterson?

3. Read the following assertions Matt Patterson makes about Google's Schmidt. For each, state whether you agree or disagree. Explain your answers.

• ___________________ From paragraphs 3-4, Matt Patterson says: "Google CEO Eric Schmidt said: 'one idea is that more and more [Google] searches are done on your behalf without you needing to type.' There is, of course, a very fine line between on your behalf and without your knowledge or approval. Just as fine is the line between without you needing to type and without you needing to think or act.
• ___________________ Patterson also says: "Schmidt explains further that, 'most people don't want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.' When I read that interview, my blood ran cold. A more perfect expression of totalitarianism could scarcely be articulated. A soft totalitarianism, to be sure, but all the more insidious for it -- the hard tyranny of the boot can be resisted, overthrown. A soft tyranny, however, seduces you into supplication, siphoning your soul away a little piece at a time, enticing you to surrender more and more of your thoughts and judgments for the sake of convenience. By the time you no longer have a soul of your own, you will have lost the capacity to realize it -- or care."
• ___________________ Mr. Patterson says in paragraph 6 "[Google's Schmidt said 'If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.' ... the equation underlying his assertion is truly frightening. It can be summarized thus: If it's worth doing, everyone has a right to know about it. Notice how privacy and immorality get conflated [mixed up]; private thoughts become inherently unworthy, and are thus essentially banished from the human realm.

4. Is Matt Patterson overreacting to Google, or do you think he is making valid points every American should think about? Explain your answer.
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