Eavesdropping phone calls - land and cell, tracking e-mails, and recording all your actions on the internet. We see a lot of these when a hero tracking down a villain in a movie. How about the government keeping track all your actions and private information you've ever uploaded and shared on the internet? How would you feel? The NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, exposed it all that US government has seriously been violating people privacy. He was granted asylum in Russia and closely advocated by Russian government which considerably worsen the tension between Russian and American as reported in The New York Times "Ties Fraying, Obama Drops Putin's Meeting".
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| President Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the end of their meeting in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, in June. |
The United States and Russia has long been in conflict dated back in WWII - when USSR still existed - till now. The conflict is based on the opposite political views, communist and capitalist which led to the cold war. During the cold war the polar different point of views resulted in historical events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1991, the war was over. The news, on the other hand, still reports the tension between the two time after time, and up to now, the tension still continues.
I remember that there's a controversial video about exposing the National Security Agency or the NSA on youtube in June. I was surprised that Edward Snowden, who was a former NSA agent, actually shared confidential information that US government violated US citizens' privacy as the government had been conducting mass surveillance - keeping track on their data. A lot of people around the world were stunned by the shocking news and are curious whether they were being monitored or not. Obama had to make announcements that the US government couldn't do such thing and had to asked one's permission first. However, it is believed believed that Snowden's information was true and accused Obama of being deceitful. Millions of people admire him as a hero to expose such information to the world, but US government condemns him as a traitor. Personally, I don't think it's a right thing that other people can check and track any personal I have because personal means belonging to me and only me. I should be the only one who has the access.
Thus, America may be the land of freedom that everybody has full right to act, think, speak, or do anything at will, but everything you do, the government will record and analyze. It's like a warden keeping track all the data prisoners have ever had. Is it really the land of freedom? I doubt that.
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Reference
Cold war. History. Retrieved August 10, 2013 from http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war
theta00 (2013, June 9). NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'. Retrieved August 9, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yB3n9fu-rM
Thank you PP, a most thought provoking post on a topical issue for everyone everywhere these past few weeks.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm inclined to agree with you that the US surveillance has been excessive, and that the government, including Obama, has lied to everyone, I'm less sure that it reduces the freedom, in particular the free speech, of Americans. But I'm sure about this. I need to think a bit more, and it's not my coffee time, when I can think in peace and without distraction.
It's a complex issue, and I hope that others take up some of the points you've raised for us to consider.
But what is the important question we want to ask PP about her list of reference citations here?
ReplyDelete(I don't mean whether she prefers coffee or tea with her response writing, but the other important question.)