Educators and most parents caution students that they must treat the online record they create as open to the public. This is probably not entirely accurate, but these young people are told to be concerned about what future employers might think of the content they post.
We all probably need to heed this guidance. When I was still employed as a faculty member, we were told that the email we sent through the University email system was considered available should this content be requested. This was not a matter of access should there be some legal issue, but a matter of the public record. It would not be up to any one of us to provide this content should it be requested, but the university would have to provide this content. I assume the cost of generating this content would be born by the party making the request.
I often think current politicians do not appreciate this reality. Despite constant charges of fake news, news agencies can produce video/audio of statements politicians made at two different times to demonstrate how they have flip-flopped or outright lied. With President Trump, this time delay may be a matter of just a couple of days. I believe the audio/video has a much larger impact than the words a journalist might offer to describe the same inconsistency.
The present dispute regarding the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh offers a great example of this type of inconsistency. There is an issue of whether the FBI can be requested to make an inquiry into the accusations made against Judge Kavanaugh. Two prominent Republicans, Grassley and Hatch, play important roles on the judiciary committee. Mr. Grassley chairs the committee. Both Senators served on the same committee when a similar accusation was brought against now Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. At that time, both Grassley and Hatch supported in glowing terms the role the FBI served in collecting information on that dispute. Today, these same two individuals have spoken out to say an FBI investigation is not only not needed, but that it cannot be conducted. The news media could describe this inconsistency in words, but it is far more damning to hear the words spoken to praise the role of the FBI in one situation and to say such an investigation is not needed or possible in another. We use the word hypocrisy far too frequently in the past few months, but I don’t know what else to call what I and you can witness for yourself.