The right to be forgotten

I´ve heard (and read) about the changes the top European Community court  of justice is requiring Google to adopt: whenever asked, the company has to remove from its search results data that is considered by the demanding part as inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relavant (see links HERE). It´s a complex subject, involving delicate aspects; on one side, the right for privacy claimed by european citizens. On the other,the so called freedom of expression claimed by Google. However, what really caught my attention was the tittle of the proposal: The right to be forgotten.

The right to be forgotten.  Five words that can tell a whole story, or many different stories, depending on the reader understanding of what´s behind of a carefull selection of words. One example: If you read one of the most famous short stories ever written, supposedly by Hemingway, using only six words: "For sale: baby shoes never worn", and burst into tears - as many has done before you, as you can check by reading this LINK -, you´ve imagined a terrible drama: a couple that has lost a child. Was it during labor? Was it after for an unexpected desease? As consequence of an accident? It could be whatever you choose to, including something completely different. What if the baby was born healthy and heavy, bigger than the mother expected and the clothes simply didn´t fit? The story loses its dramatic strenght, for sure, but not everybody appreciates sad endings. There are the ones who love the happy ones. The story goes on according to the reader´s imagination.

The right to be forgotten, a legitimate claim. Thinking about that sentence, about this sequence of words, all I could envision was a collection of dramas: couples that split, families torn apart by different types of tragedies. As much as I tried, I couldn´t come up with a happy ending story. But that´s me, I´m quite dramatic. And there was something else that came up to my mind. It´s funny how sometimes we choose a specific  sequence of words that have a very clear meaning if we take them literally, but we wish for the exact opposite of what we´re saying. There are times when leave me alone means don´t leave me alone. So, for me, in many cases, ask to be forgotten means you wish you wouldn´t be. Humans are strange animals, don´t you think?
I´ve also heard (and read) that sad stories can make great art, whereas the happy ones hardly ever. Why would that be? I´m not sure. I guess Tolstoy has the best explanation I´ve read: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". Happyness is worth living, not reading about it.
And this song in particular is a wonderful example of pain turned into art. Enjoy.