One of my favorite genres of novels are the futuristic dystopian ones. Books like The Road, Brave New world, 1984, these are some of my favorites to read. The ideas that they present are not only fascinating, but I personally do not believe that they are an unrealistic prediction of what is to come. In the last two weeks, I believe this country has been introduced to the first steps of this process. The news about how the National Security Agency is spying on US citizens has been a terrifying realization that we (potentially) are being watched.
For arguments sake, I will assume for the rest of this entry that all of the allegations against the NSA are true (it wouldn't make for a very good conversation if I assumed the opposite, now would it?). Obviously the most discussed individual in the last two weeks on the subject has to be Mr. Edward Snowden, the man who leaked the information, in order to open our eyes. In case your head has been buried in a pile of sand or something, an arrest warrant has been issued for Snowden, issued by the great US of A for espionage. I just want everyone to take a few minutes and reflect on how they feel about Snowden and the NSA....
Personally, I can see both sides of the argument. Snowden is a hero. He exposed a government that has betrayed the trust of its citizens. He has brought to light an illegal, immoral act that was being carried out by the people we have trusted to protect and lead us. He will go down in history as a martyr, fighting to preserve the luxury that so many people in this country believe is freedom. Edward Snowden is good.
However, he also violated several US laws. He is now on the run, fleeing from the country like a scared little puppy with his tail between his legs. If he has the balls to commit, essentially, treason, why can he not stay and take the punishment that he deserves? Edward Snowden very clearly does not trust this country. Edward Snowden is bad.
The NSA has turned this country from one living in blissful ignorance, to one living in fearful paranoia. While many people joke around about this subject, it certainly is serious. We no longer have any privacy. Nobody knows the extent to the surveillance, although I'm sure plenty of people think they know all about it. It could be as minor as looking at suspect's phone records. But what if its more. What if they are able to listen in on every phone call? Read my emails. Access my bank accounts? Obviously they would have no interest in spying on me in this manor, but its this paranoia that is detrimental to society. The NSA is bad.
However, the NSA did not do this to spy on petty drug dealers or middle aged men calling up prostitutes. They did this to catch real bad guys. This is clearly an effort to thwart terrorism. I would be willing to bet money that everyone in this country that was so willing to invade another country to fight the bad guys are equally as opposed to finding the bad guys here. Maybe people are in denial about terrorists living here, but they're wrong. Look at the Tsarnaev brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon. The younger one wrestled at a tournament at my high school. Is someone going to try and argue that he was not a terrorist living in our country? I can understand why the NSA is spying. They are not doing it to check that I just googled, "how to change my car oil". They are doing it to keep this country safe. The NSA is good.
The argument can go either way, and I just want to make sure everyone thinks about that before they decide how they feel about it.
The thing that scares me the most? It's a slippery slope. While I believe the NSA has good intentions, who's to say that in 15 years we will not be living under the watchful eye of Big Brother, guaranteeing safety, while promising imprisonment.
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