So, after much deliberation and procrastination, I have decided to finally get around to talking about Edward Snowden.
Edward. Fucking. Snowden.
If, for some reason, you aren't familiar with this guy, Google has about 530 million results to choose from, and from all political slants. Take your pick and catch up. We'll wait. Alternately, he has own Wikipedia page.
We good? Good.
Snowden is, depending on whom you ask, a traitor or a hero. I have read about this man that I know nothing about whatsoever from various sources. I have read the ballad-like entries of left-leaning bloggers to the apoplectic, almost psychotic, ravings from the right. You know some shit has been stirred, through, when Glenn Beck throws a curveball of this magnitude.
So, I guess the question that should be addressed is: Where do I stand on this? Is Snowden a whistleblower? A hero? A traitor who needs to be put to death? Before we can really answer this, though, there are a few things that we need to ascertain, not the least of which is drawing clear lines between Snowden and Bradley Manning (who, I feel is prudent to note, only has a paltry 189 million search results on Google).
What Manning did was, in my mind, incredibly stupid. He made available information that seriously jeopardized the lives of our troops and ambassadors. He put into public view information that our enemies could have used (and most likely happily did so) to evade efforts of apprehension. While I can't really knock his reasoning for doing what he did, that doesn't mean that I have to agree with the means to his end. Even if the judge isn't buying the entire story of the prosecution. He really should have tried harder than two sources before dumping to WikiLeaks.
Before I go any further, let me clarify something specifically for Julian Assange: You are an asshole of a greater caliber than I. You can consider that either a compliment, or an insult, because I'm seriously not sure of it myself.
Now, what Snowden did was something entirely different. Yes, it's similar in the sense that he leaked information that was considered to be classified to a source who then turned the public eye towards the issues raised. The difference, however, is that Snowden did nothing more than confirm something that we already kinda figured was going on, anyway. That video is from 2010, by the way. I could probably find earlier, but to keep up with the current trend, here's some Google results.
To call Snowden a traitor, I think, is rather extreme. Is he a criminal? Oh, hell yes, he is. There is absolutely zero debate in that regard. He broke the law - not to mention his government contract, essentially guaranteeing nothing but fast food employment here on in - and definitely needs to answer for that. However, I don't believe he is a traitor. Espionage isn't really what I would call it, either. All he did was cause the American government embarrassment. That's hardly enough to warrant the poisonous rhetoric, much less recommendations of Dick Cheney. Even the reaction of John McCain is entirely unwarranted.
Now, let's take a look at the facts, and then we'll arrive at what, I feel, is a logical conclusion reached by the facts, and the facts alone.
First and foremost, cellphone users are apparently too stupid for privacy in the eyes (or ears, as it were) of our "government." According to a federal judge - that I should remind you is paid off our tax dollars - if you are willing to pick up your cell phone and turn it on, then you are automatically waiving your Fourth Amendment. In the exact words of New York Magistrate Judge Gary Brown himself: "Given the ubiquity and celebrity of geolocation technologies, an individual has no legitimate expectation of privacy in the prospective of a cellular telephone where that individual has failed to protect his privacy by taking the simple expedient of powering it off."
"But... but.... that's not right! Surely the liberal Democrats have our backs in this!" you might say. Well, Billy, are you ever wrong! Both parties are actually 100% A-Okay with this entire system! As a matter of fact, days after the leak, Republican Saxby Chambliss (probably the douchiest name ever) and Democrat Dianne Feinstein both outraged against Snowden and his actions, and actually stood in support of the NSA! How about that?
Now, it's not exactly a secret that this isn't exactly the first time that our government has been exposed when it comes to spying on us. Hell, we had almost the exact same scandal not even ten years ago. The problem is that we're too focused on some incredibly dumb shit and we shouldn't even care about it. These things have absolutely no merit in our day to day lives. I get why people would want to watch the white trash stereotype perpetuate itself - particularly after being enlightened to the idea of white privilege - but I cannot fathom why anybody would actually care about the birth of a new generation of people that our forefathers fought against to free us from tyranny, and bring us to the great nation that we're supposed to be.
When the founders of this great nation first drafted the Constitution, they did it to free us from tyranny. They did it to keep us from the very things that are happening in our government right now. What they are doing to us with this NSA thing isn't what they would have wanted. Any person who can look at me and honestly say otherwise.... well, I can't imagine such a person exists.
Especially if they understand that, despite government assurance, they most certainly are using data collected against Americans. This alone should tell you what they're intending on using it for. You think you're safe from this? You're not. And the fact that we even caught wind of this is because we were suddenly looking for it. Why were we looking for it, though?
Edward Snowden.
I understand why many people would jump to the conclusion that he is a traitor, though. He flew to Hong Kong. Now, that's actually very, very important. Hong Kong, despite popular belief, isn't really a part of China, anymore. It's more what you would call a Chinese territory, much like how we consider Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands are territories of the United States. The difference, if it isn't already obvious, is that they are entirely autonomous from the controlling lands. Well, in the spirit of accuracy here, Hong Kong is more semi-autonomous versus fully so, but the point does remain that Hong Kong is not China. If he really wanted to sell our information to the enemy and really betray the country, don't you think Beijing would have been the more logical place to go for such an action? You can't tell me that they wouldn't have welcomed him with open arms. Instead, he went to the place that would have bought him the most time to plan his next move.
That move ended up being Moscow, but by the time he landed, his travel papers were no longer valid. It's not as if he wanted to end up there. I'm almost positive that he was hoping to beat the clock and head into either Havana or Ecuador, where his American money dollars would have stretched a lot further than they would in Russia. I admit that this speculation stems from what I would do were I in his position. However, his luck gambling ran out and he ended up in Russia, of all places.
As many news sources have pointed out (see earlier link to Snowden search results - a few are on the front page), it's not like Russia is an ideal place to be for anybody, least of all an exile. Yes, Russia granted him asylum for one year, but what then? There are only two reasons why Putin would pull such a move, that I can see.
1) He simply couldn't resist giving the United States a black eye. Given our current role on the global stage, we aren't exactly very well-liked by anybody right now. When the people that you call your allies are keeping relations with your enemies, you know you're in a bad spot. And our few allies that weren't mad at us are - on an official capacity, anyway - outraged at the fact that we are also spying on them. Combine this with the rapidly deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States, add in a bit of Cold War mentality, and have a desperate expat with classified information about the inner-workings of the United States, and you've got one hell of an opportunity to make America the Brave a complete fool. What Communist dictator could possibly resist?
2) He really, really wants that information. Let's not forget that he's a Communist dictator who has proven that he has very little regard for anything but his own motives, time and again. Various violations to basic human rights, as well as lots of oppression towards the LBGT community (though that might be a play from America's book), doesn't exactly paint a pleasant picture of what is most likely in store for Snowden. If Putin gets all Cold War on him, Snowden is going to wish that we caught him instead. Again, for the sake of clarity, Vladimir Putin is a fucking Communist dictator who clearly is out of fucks to give. If he decides that he wants what Snowden has in its entirety, you can be damned sure that he's going to get it. To what ends he'll use it is anybody's guess, because he really is nothing if not unpredictable.
So, where do I really stand with Edward Snowden? I personally think that he's a hero. He's a criminal, sure, but he's a damned heroic one. I have done my best to explain the facts, as I see them, and provide you with the sources I used to get to my conclusions.
At the end of the day, you can feel how you want about Snowden. I won't hold it against you. Just remember that without people like him - or rather, his courage - we wouldn't have the great nation that we do. He took a look at something that was happening to his fellow man and said "No, this will not do." He took a stand. He did something that many people do not: What he felt was right, and what's more, is he owned up to it. Feel him a traitor. Consider him a coward. Lift him up as a hero. Do what you will. But be sure to give him the respect that he deserves in the sense that he did what he felt was right, regardless of what it's going to cost him.
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