A well-written missive from my friend Chris Holmes, about the Snowden situation. Your thoughts? It is becoming clearer and clearer every day that Edward Snowden deserves more than just Universal Amnesty and a Presidential pardon; it seems like he might deserve a Noble Peace Prize after these revelations for unearthing an unfathomable, unquenchable bureaucratic urge to limit liberty and put an end to personal privacy for the sake of our collective national security. The scale of his sacrifice and scope of the information he has unearthed for the public good is astounding when compared to even Daniel Ellsberg and the release of the Pentagon Papers. When The Patriot Act, and The Patriot Act 2 were passed right in the wake of 9/11, many protested that the government and spy agencies would use it as carte blanche to take away public and Personal Liberties for the sake of National Security. It is now apparent to the entire world that even the most paranoid wonks were short sighted and underestimated the scope of the whole picture. Much of what has been reported and that which is still being revealed was fully legal under the rushed to pass legislation. What is now apparent is that those laws and their framework were used as only a starting point. None of this would be public knowledge without Snowdens releases. My jaw hits the floor each time a new revelation is revealed by the Guardian, the NY Times, or the Washington Post. Here is the latest example nytimes/2013/12/05/us/politics/documents-say-phones-outside-us-are-tracked.html?_r=0. The sacrifice that Edward Snowden took to reveal this information is mind numbing. Liberty and Democracy arent set in stone, they are things that have to be painfully worked for by every generation every day. Our freedoms and patriotism arent a set destination, but are a journey that we take from one generation to the next, one day at a day. Hopefully with each generation we make things better for the one that follows. I am an eternal optimist and believe in humanity, and understand the complexity of international diplomacy, back channels, and the need for intelligence. I do understand that many of Snowdens revelations may have temporarily hurt our ability to keep our nation safe. I just think as the methodology is revealed, it is very clear which direction intelligence was headed in. We need not let the wunderlust of technology and innovation dictate our use of this intelligence. We are not a nation without errors and foibles, we as humans and Americans have a very checkered past, but that is no reason to believe that we cant strive to be something better and reach for the ideals of true Democracy. It is abundantly clear to both the Right and Left at this point, that the NSA, CIA, FBI and local law enforcement agencies have overstepped their bounds in an new and undiscovered world. Its time to do what our Founding Forefathers would have done, which is to take a look at the big picture and see how it reflects on our Personal Liberties and what we stand for as a nation. I believe in the better angels of our nature, and that when problems are found and brought to light we can fix them and make them better. I doubt there has ever been a better time to be alive, I am just suggesting at this point that we use this as a teachable moment to improve what Democracy and Patriotism really are. We also need to look at the future of technology and intelligence and figure out what is the best course for national and worldwide cooperation and peace. Lets set international goals for space and get humans on Mars. Lets build global energy networks and share resources to end hunger. Lets create a Democracy for and from individuals, not multinational corporations (who are not and will never be people). Things have always been broke in this world of ours, and every generation does its best to fix them and hold up their work as inspiration for the following generation. We live in a world of such infinite potential, and amazing and inspiring things unfold before our eyes every day. It is our duty to not just sit idly by as spectators but to participate in Democracy and shape our country and make it better for all the generations that follow. Please excuse my indulgence, Im sure I wouldnt have to write the screed if Newsroom were back on HBO and covering these issues. Im sure Aaron Sorkin could and will say all of this much more eloquently but I offer this for now and thank Edward Snowden for his sacrifice in bringing this darkness to the light.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 05:46:35 +0000
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