I remain conflicted about Snowden. Hero or villain? I don't know. I think I do not yet know enough to decide. Perhaps, with information being controlled by media and government, I will never know enough to decide correctly.
Gen. Clapper lied under oath to a Congressional committee. If the government will not prosecute him, it has no right to complain about Snowden, whose loyalty seems to have been to the Constitution, not a rogue government agency. I simply have no interest in living in a surveillance state. As my fellow Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin put it, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
You make very sound points. Part of my confusion on the issue comes from my prior lives as a military intelligence specialist (1966-1969) and military legal specialist (1975-1994). If I had an issue with government improprieties, I could not simply become a "whistle blower" because I had restrictive obligations (legal, moral, and patriotic) because of my security clearance status and my oath of service (similar to Clapper's and Snowden's status). Still, I understand you and Benjamin Franklin. I do not see an easy answer to the predicament. We are definitely in strange new territory because of technology and government. Recent news about a judge's ruling, however, further complicates the issue. I remain conflicted.
I remain conflicted about Snowden. Hero or villain? I don't know. I think I do not yet know enough to decide. Perhaps, with information being controlled by media and government, I will never know enough to decide correctly.
ReplyDeleteGen. Clapper lied under oath to a Congressional committee. If the government will not prosecute him, it has no right to complain about Snowden, whose loyalty seems to have been to the Constitution, not a rogue government agency. I simply have no interest in living in a surveillance state. As my fellow Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin put it, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
ReplyDeleteYou make very sound points. Part of my confusion on the issue comes from my prior lives as a military intelligence specialist (1966-1969) and military legal specialist (1975-1994). If I had an issue with government improprieties, I could not simply become a "whistle blower" because I had restrictive obligations (legal, moral, and patriotic) because of my security clearance status and my oath of service (similar to Clapper's and Snowden's status). Still, I understand you and Benjamin Franklin. I do not see an easy answer to the predicament. We are definitely in strange new territory because of technology and government. Recent news about a judge's ruling, however, further complicates the issue. I remain conflicted.
ReplyDelete