Now everything seems to be turned upside down. What I have
in mind is the Snowden case.
To me Snodwen is a hero. He is a whistleblower who stands up
against powerful organizations violating American and international law. He told
the world that NSA violates rights of privacy, monitoring millions of accounts
on Google and Facebook.
Whistleblowers never win. They’re always shot down, unless
they stay undercover, like Deep Throat. But, history often gives them the
credit they deserve.
The NSA claims they have prevented several terror attacks.
That’s great. We can probably accept surveillance of selected groups and individuals
to prevent terror.
But why does the NSA spy on European embassies and government
offices? We don’t like that. I’ve always been a fan of Obama, but in this case
he has disappointed me, if he knew what was going on.
I hope the NSA has noticed that Napoleon is no longer Emperor
of France, and Hitler is not Chancellor of Germany.
Today most EU countries are social
democracies. Is this the motivation for the surveillance?
In America the only word that appears more scaring than
terrorism is socialism. It means collective farms and gulags, Stalin and Mao
and Pol Pot.
Social democracy is not the same as communism.
In practice, a social democracy is a capitalist system with
a socialist touch. The social democracy has invented horrifying things like
free health care and free education. Except from that, there’s not much to
fear.
We’re friends of America and will always be. Part of a
friendship is to tell your friend when he has done something unacceptable.
(The cartoon was borrowed from joyreactor.com)
It takes a lot of nerve to expose your own government for its wrongdoing. I wish he didn't have to seek asylum. I know plenty of folks who would give him a place to stay if they could, right here in what is supposed to be the Land of the Free.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm somewhat disapponted by The Land of the Free. I'm also disappointed by all the wimpy European countries that don't have the guts to give him asylum. It's almost like I wish Chavez was still around
DeleteAs an American, sometimes my Country bothers me terribly. I am embarrassed and even horrified by some of what it does.
ReplyDeleteThe Right Wing in this Country was absolutely brilliant when it tied religion into conservative politics. People don't even know what communism and socialism are, but they will oppose them on religious grounds. They vote for people who take advantage of them economically. They give away their rights to privacy like candy. I can only hope that time and circumstances will conspire to bring enlightenment - it seems as though they often do.
In the meantime, we'll fight for sanity in our own small ways!
Important post, thanks!
"They vote for people who take advantage of them economically"
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the things I've found it hard to understand. Why do poor and working-class Americans vote for the big-money/big-corp/big-church guys who have no intention to help them? In Europe the working-class people vote for the Socialist Party or Labor Party, which they should.
The funny thing about Christianity is that Jesus was a rebel and socialist. I'm atheist myself, but I like Jesus as a person/character. He would probably been very disappointed by some of his followers.
CA - absolutely. Jesus rebelled against power and corruption. They killed him for just that.
DeleteAgain, it's absolutely brilliant, albeit twisted, that some forms of Christianity have been connected with Right Wing traditionalist values, which is the opposite of what Jesus stood for. I don't know how they did it exactly, but it was masterful. And tragic.
And now the Muslim Brotherhood tries to build up the same mix of religion and right-wing politics in Egypt. Typically they argue that liberal and western ideas are unislamic. No wonder the Egyptians wanted a restart of their revolution (though I don't think it was the smartest way to do it with a military coup)
DeleteI think the separation of religion and state is so much more important than most people realize. Some are quick to dismiss it - which always strikes me as rather odd in the U.S., given it was founded by people fleeing religious persecution.
DeleteReligion can be used to reinforce power and authority. It can stop people from questioning, or give those in authority permission to sanction those who do question.
I'm not surprised when I hear Islam jumping on that bandwagon.
I totally agree with you. The state must be secular. It's important to keep government, legislation and religion separate.
Deletethey vote for the people who take advantage of them because they are the products of a slashed in funding educational system that teaches lies as truth and they get their 'news' from stations bought by their puppet masters. They swallow it all because it makes them feel powerful. The Land Of The Free is a joke. and though I voted for Obama twice, he is not a liberal, if you look closely you will see he is really right of center. It's just that the opposition has gotten so extreme that it makes him look liberal. Surely it is time for that pendulum to start swinging our way!
ReplyDeleteIn Europe we're used to a very colorful political fauna, spanning the entire spectrum from ultra-left to ultra-right. To me the American political system seems to be very narrow. There are only two options; right wing and ultra-right wing. Why doesn't anyone start a strong left/labor movement?
DeleteUnfortunately Obama has disappointed a lot of people. Worse, he doesn't appear to care.
ReplyDeleteYes, he has. I'm not sure what the main reason is, but I suspect it's been difficult for him with the House Republicans trying to sabotage anything he tries to do.
DeleteI'm not an atheist, but a Christian and I completely agree with what you say about Jesus. We as his followers have severely disappointed him.
ReplyDeleteAs to the government stuff...Obama began disappointing me a long time ago. Not sure which is worse: the "I have so little control over my staff that I had no idea this was happening" OR "Yes, I knew, and now I'm lying about it." It all sickens me. Sigh.
Tina @ Life is Good
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSorry, too many typos. I try again.
DeleteI think that Jesus, if he really lived, was a charismatic leader and philosopher, but I don't believe he's God (obviously, since I find no reason to believe that God exists). I like the way he supports the underdogs, and challenge the rich and powerful.
The Snowdon situation has been really fascinating to watch, and very illuminating.
ReplyDeleteWe're probably not surprised that this surveillance was (and probably still is) going on. But now it's proven
DeleteYes, I'm also with Snowden on this. I think he had guts revealing what he did. I wonder if he knew just how bad the reaction against him would be. Quite scary. The whole saga reminds me of the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War" (with the democratic US government as the modern day equivalent of the democratic Athenians!)
ReplyDeleteI think many whistleblowers honestly believe that the entire world will applaude, and get a shock when they face the thunderstorm they create.
DeleteBig Brother is watching.
ReplyDeleteThe Snowden thing didn't surprise me.
As for socialism, I've lived abroad in countries that have it. I never want it here in America.
No surprise this was going on. Other major countries like Russia, China, France and UK probably do the same.
DeleteRegarding socialism: I don't think a socialist country really exists and never did, at least not according to Marx' original conception of the ideology.
I have lived in a social democracy most of my life, and I'm quite happy with it (though it has some drawbacks). In particular, since I'm not from a rich family, I appreciate the free education I got, from elementary school to PhD.