Edward Snowden’s situation

I’ve written multiple posts about Edward Snodwn and the NSA-Abhörskandal as it is called in German.  I believe it is my duty to voice my concerns and to speak out strongly in support of human rights and freedom whenever possible.

I was one of hundreds of thousands who marched in the streets of San Francisco in March 2003 to protest the impending invasion of Iraq and the consequent disaster it has been for that country, for America, and for the world.  500,000 deaths in Iraq, $2 trillion wasted that should have been spent helping Americans, torture and a gulag-type extraterritorial prison committing human rights abuses, and global humiliation of a country – the USA – which should have been leading the world, not dragging it down.

Somehow I sensed that this was all coming on 9/11/01.  When I went outdoors for the first time on 9/11/01 I felt a powerful, very tangible fear that I have never felt before in my life and hope to never again.  I was not afraid because of the horrible events that happened that day, but afraid because we had madmen in power, running our country, and I knew at that time that America was in for major shit.

What a catastrophe it has been.  The US government at the time lived up to its potential to crash the country and wreck it more severely than has ever occurred in its history except perhaps during the Civil War, the two Great Wars, and of course the Vietnam War.

I have been thinking about the case of Edward Snowden.  One thing I can say is that he did know what he was doing working for the NSA.  He also did know what he was doing by making the revelations he has made (and presumably will continue to be trickling out in the media for an ongoing time).  There is no way that he could not have known the effects of what he was doing.

He clearly believed that the implications of the programs being run at the NSA were serious enough to warrant this sort of major mass revelation.

But I think it is a tricky issue.  There is no question that we needed to have this discussion.  There is culpability on the part of the American government for not handling the issues of privacy and human rights properly.  It has made mistakes.  It has assumed that it has sweeping powers to do whatever it wants and that is fundamentally wrong.  It is fundamentally wrong the way the Infrastructure of Oppression has been put in place undemocratically and with what is now clear has been failed oversight in many instances.

This most surely would not have happened had Edward Snowden not made his dramatic revelations to global media.  Its sad to say, but we all know that if he had simply gone to some Congressional oversight committe with his information and concerns it would more than likely have not amounted to jack shit.  It is upsetting to hear Feinstein imply that it would not have.

So, one major aspect of what is happening and I think why it has happened is beyond just the revelations themselves.  One major aspect is that America is failing in its most basic, fundamental principles of upholding human rights and having a truly democratic, well-run government.

This has been the case for a long time.  Every year we citizens watch as our government erodes.  We see how mainstream media is more and more in the pocket of big business.  How big business ultimately is what calls the shots in American politics over and over again against the will of The People, how horrible decisions are made undemocratically behind closed doors which have serious implications for our health, our well-being, and our future.

Some of the decisions that have occured with regard to genetially modified organisms are a case in point.  The way industry insiders and former power lobbyists are put in charge of agencies tasked with regulating the very same industries.  There is so much corruption like this that its sickening.

We know that just going to committes or writing letters to our representatives isn’t doing shit.  I personally write letters all the time and can only say that its disgusting to received boilerplate responses all the time that often only vaguely if at all allude to the actual concerns I bring up in my communications.  I’ve made phone calls to my reps in Washington also and honestly the way some staff answer the phone makes you feel as if you’re just a piece of shit bothering them.

In 2013 America is clearly a fucked-up country.  We have this broken, corrupt government controlled by big business.  We’ve had Citizens United.  We have a sick mainstream media that is clearly a tool for propaganda and a farce.  We even have tv networks where commentators regularly display open hate and bigotry that is appalling.

This is the backdrop to the revelations Edward Snowden has made.  He made then not in some peaceful, idyllic time of a happy country with a happy little democracy chugging along, but during an extremely dark, sick time where all the trends are heading strongly in the wrong direction.

Clearly Edward Snowden could not have known there would not be major shit by realeasing all the information he has, but its clear that our system has been broken and disfuctional and there has been no way to wake things up and start having the discussions we desperately need to have about our core values of freedom and democracy.

I don’t know what will happen to Edward, but I feel sad that he is in the situation he is in.  I hope that he will be able to find a safe haven somewhere because he clearly doen’t deserve to be dragged back to the USA in chains and subjected to draconian imprisonment.