The public self and the private self maintain a relatively stable balance in every man, woman, and child. This ubiquitous equilibrium scarcely arouses suspicion, nor does it stimulate conversation. Why should it? Balance has no cause to elicit a response. Do fire alarms alert us when no fire is present, just for the sake of our self-assurance? On the contrary, like many other situations that are regularly in a state of homeostasis, the balance of privacy and community (and actions committed therein) only receives attention when exceedingly out of alignment. …
