Interpreting the Meaning of PrivateHearing the word private, you might think of infinite meanings and uses. Some people think that for their safety, some people should not be reserved. Others believe it is their human right to have privacy, because it defines us. The dictionary-defined term private has undergone subtle changes over the past 300 years. Over the past three years, the definition of private in the United States has lost a lot of meaning, providing an even more important reason to find the true definition. Pre-9/11 definitions never limit privacy to certain groups or people, and never appear to grant more privacy to other people. In 1634, the Oxford English Dictionary defined private as “not open to the public; restricted…for…privileged people”. The focus of this definition is the exclusive rights to view or interact with an object. As time passed, in 1913, the meaning grew to become “personal property” (Webster's). Every day more and more property became private, as people feared a big government would control their lives. A current definition includes isolation “from the sight, presence, or intrusion of others” and focuses on the lack of knowledge of less privileged people (AHD, 2000). Lately, the government has passed sweeping laws that violate the privacy rights of many people. The USA PATRIOT ACT and USA PATRIOT ACT II seriously undermine many of the definitions of private. Through the Acts, people residing in the United States can be wiretapped at meetings, have their personal property searched without their knowledge, and followed/harassed within the confines of their home. For many people, the word private conjures up a vision of secrecy or personal belongings. Most people hope that bathrooms and locker rooms, lawyers and their clients, to name a couple, are private. Privacy does not depend on the person, since privacy is a human right that should be guaranteed to everyone. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore shows a pacifist group that an undercover agent has infiltrated, violating their privacy. The group was not criminal and had not been found guilty of anything, however Big Brother decided that the rights of these people should be limited. With the passing of these laws, privacy is decreasing. People may wonder what life would be like without privacy? No walls in bathrooms, shared changing rooms, recordings of who you talked to and what about, not to mention trying to build a legal defense if accused of a crime. How could you defend yourself from an accusation if there was no planning??