The public sphere is where we learn tolerance, learn to be civil, and achieve the satisfactions that come with civic participation. The public sphere is where we encounter the surprises and experience the serendipity that make for rich and interesting lives. As the public sphere collapses, people find reinforcement for their own values, wallow in self-obsession, move toward moral rigidity, and often become suspicious, sometimes even paranoid, about the unexplored public world and its strange inhabitants. The pageant of public life is dying as more and more details of the private lives of public figures are thrust at us. The former decorum of public life is being replaced by ever coarser language and an ever greater willingness of people to discuss absolutely anything on national television.
Shock jocks compete for radio listeners by seeking new lows in titillation or incivility.
In part because of this, and in part because we can, we increasingly limit our time spent in the communal activities that played such an important role in shaping earlier generations of Americans. Yes, it IS important that the government respect the right of citizens to make fundamental decisions about their lives. Privacy is not a value that trumps all others.