Can You Keep a Secret?

Is it possible to keep secrets from spreading?

Throughout time keeping information to oneself has been a very difficult task. In the myth of Midas, King Midas is given ears of an ass as punishment for disagreeing with Apollo. As he was King, Midas did not want anyone to know of his horrible deformity, for this reason he wore a turban and the only soul that knew of his plight was a servant that cut the King's hair. This servant was sworn to secrecy, but a secret of that magnitude was impossible to hold inside. For this reason the servant dug a hole and told the secret to the ground, the reeds that grew on that soil whispered the King's secret to passersby.

This story poses a very interesting question of the ability to keep a secret. In today's society it has become increasingly difficult to keep secrets due to modern forms of technology and a person's natural instinct to share secrets especially for personal gain. Unfortunately, people have a very difficult time keeping their problems to themselves and look for advice from their friends or other people that they trust, these people in turn are sworn to secrecy, but now they too carry this burden of something that they need to share. As these secrets are spread they are altered and often exaggerated causing many conflicts among friends, showing that in today's society it is seemingly impossible to keep a secret unless you do not share your confidential stories with anyone.