“My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.” – Edward Snowden
Welcome to the world of Edward Snowden. Here’s a man who has traded his quiet life as a technical assistant for the uncertain one of a whistleblower – to bring about a series of exposes concerning the American security surveillance. The resolve with which he has abandoned the cloak of anonymity, knowing that his future after this episode is uncertain, is credible.
It all began in June when,The Guardian and The Washington Post published documents obtained by Snowden exposing the extent to which the US has tapped into citizens’ privacy. He is responsible for divulging the details of about 200,000 sorted documents and surveillance programs. Snowden went on to disclose with certainty that the NSA was responsible for tracking the location and movements of a substantial number of cellphones by means of fibre-optic cables in an effort to find suspicious travel patterns of targets. The latest documents make evident the formerly unimaginable extent to which NSA has been collecting location data.
The real problem for America is twofold- one, on how an IT expert turned James Bond to reveal inside information of plausibly the world’s most intricate spy agency ever conceived and – two, what this means for its political bigwigs. This saga has rattled the very principles of internet freedom and privacy.
The battleground is divided into those who believe that Snowden should have stood by his country’s government for the “greater good” and those who consider his actions to be of heroic proportions. Whatever side one may be on, Snowden is widely acknowledged as a true champion of national security transparency.
For here the stage has been set for a battle between the NSA and whom it calls a fugitive. As the drama unfolds, the velvety tunes of freedom float. As the curtains fall, Truth shall prevail.
