Snowden controversy: elites vs the People -- whose side are you on?

By Donald Hank

I sent out an inquiry to my email list this morning to see what conservatives think about Ed Snowden. As it turns out, most conservatives were forgiving of or in agreement with Ed Snowden. And while there have been opinion polls, the national discussion on this is managed by people with an agenda, right, left or libertarian. Other problems include normalcy bias. We have not caught up to the uncomfortable fact that our government may not have our best interests at heart.

The main argument against Snowden seems to be that he has "hurt the info community." That argument presupposes that the info community is focused on helping root out terror and protecting us. While I am certain that many in that community presume that their activities are aimed at protecting Americans, that presumption raises questions:

If the NSA and other info gathering agencies are truly focused on finding anti-American activities, why don't they focus on suspects rather than massively gather data on everyone? Focusing on groups that can be reasonable expected to account for higher percentages of perpetrators is precisely why Israeli airport security is so successful. It is called profiling, and once law enforcement can no longer profile, their behavior becomes increasingly inefficient and absurd because everyone is treated as a suspect. This policy has caused enormous disruptions of air travel and costs us untold millions to implement.

The NSA, for its part, has taken its activities to the absurd by gathering data on everyone on the planet who uses electronic communications.

The bottom line is this: If "security" agencies were truly focused on keeping us safe, then the Tsarnaev Brothers could not have bombed the Boston Marathon because Russia had already warned these agencies about these men and they did nothing.

Further, if our government were concerned for our safety, they would only allow vetted immigrants to cross our border.

Therefore, despite the good will of lower ranking security personnel, the highest ranks are clearly interested in an agenda other than our safety. That being the case, Snowden is a valuable whistle blower.

Judging by the responses to my inquiry, that is how conservatives see him as well.

This response says it best:

Don:

... fighting against tyranny is not – if ever – true treason. It is, instead, demanded. When my ancestors fought against the British King prior to establishing the USA, they were considered "traitors to the Crown." Technically, they were. But, as Jefferson wrote in our founding document [the] Declaration of Independence "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security..."

Today someone sent me an article that attempts to portray Snowden as a traitor, but it ignores the points outlined above:

Quote:

... if Martial Law is declared in the US or if any elections are canceled for any reason, all the government employee info goes out [Ed Snowden says he will do this – Don]. If an economic collapse takes place, all the Banker/Stock Broker/Commodities Trader information goes out. If Corporations start hyper-inflating prices, all the information about them, their officers and Board of Directors will go out. Snowden literally has the most powerful people in the United States in an inescapable stranglehold. [my emphasis]

Most of the people I correspond with are middle class. Some have told me they are living below poverty level.

The most powerful people in the US are keeping us poor with inflationary policies in government and in the Fed, by devaluing the dollar and giving your sustenance to people who do not work while implementing policies that kill industry and invite hordes of illegal aliens to work. Their policies ensure that these unemployed will never work and that you will always support them until your job is also destroyed.

If you do work, you are a slave of the State because a substantial amount of your income is used to pay for policies that will ensure your eventual demise.

Yet the author of the above linked article seems to want readers to identify and sympathize with the "most powerful people in America" and to think of Snowden as a traitor for threatening to tell the truth about these people who cavalierly dismiss our concerns in every policy decision. They see truth as a threat. But it is a threat not to us but to the elites and their cronies.

Worse, the above quote suggests that no one should be allowed to fight back if martial law is declared or elections are suspended in the US!

Are you concerned about the reputations of these "most powerful people"?

Please post your comments below.

How about martial law, suspended elections (dictatorship) and the economy? Are you outraged to know that these most powerful people in America might be thwarted in their efforts to declare martial law on you and cause your economy to collapse?

In other words, are you in favor of an oligarchy or would you like the People to be restored to their rightful place in our Republic?

Do you agree with Rep. Buck McKeon of CA that Snowden is a "traitor" for revealing secrets of the rich and powerful, for warning the People of their loss of privacy and the threat to their rights?

As for the economic collapse, this is clearly being engineered by the elites whose comfort and privilege the above-cited author is fretting about.

If the people of the United States are so eager and willing to wear their chains that they would side with their slave masters, then this is no longer my country.

But I happen to believe Americans still yearn to be free.

Your comments will tell the story.

Thank you.

© Donald Hank