
Edward Snowden, The N.S.A. Leaker, Comes Forward - platz
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/06/edward-snowden-the-nsa-leaker-comes-forward.html
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miles
_He talked about living “comfortably” but “unfreely.” (The dystopia he seems
to be obsessing about is less “1984” than “Brave New World.”)_

Epictetus addressed this sentiment a few thousand years ago:

Men shut up tame lions in a cage, and bring them up, and feed them, and some
take them around with them. And yet who will call such a lion free? Is it not
true that the more softly the lion lives the more slavishly he lives? And what
lion, were he to get sense and reason, would care to be one of these lions?
Why, yes, and the birds yonder, when they are caught and brought up in cages,
what do they suffer in their efforts to escape? And some of them starve to
death rather than endure such a life, while even such as live, barely do so,
and suffer and pine away, and if ever they find any opening, make their
escape. Such is their desire for physical freedom, and a life of independence
and freedom from restraint. And what is wrong with you here in your cage?
"What a question! My nature is to fly where I please, to live in the open air,
to sing when I please. You rob me of all this, and then ask, 'What is wrong
with you?'"

~~~
md224
A very interesting quote, but how much does the government _really_ restrict
my freedom? This is a sincere question, because I honestly feel like it isn't
that much. There are some laws that I think really ought to be changed, but
there aren't many times in a given day where I think to myself "oh dammit, I
really wanted to do [illegal thing] but I can't because the government won't
let me." So it's hard for me to really empathize with Epictetus's analogy,
unless the angle is privacy: the lion isn't free because he's always being
watched, even if his captors allow him to do as he pleases.

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shirro
If you grow up living in a
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon)
and are repeatedly told it is there to protect you from evil doers not good
people like yourself, is your resulting behaviour still truly that of a free
person, or has your behaviour been modified?

I live in a rich western democracy which has no capital punishment, torture,
extraordinary renditions, executive executions and about 1/5th as many people
in prison by population. I don't think it terribly polite to tell friends how
to conduct themselves but I feel for all my countries considerable
shortcomings, for the most part we conduct ourselves in a way which is morally
superior. I continue to be surprised that a country founded on some very high
minded principles (equality, separation of powers, rule of law etc) seems to
be continuing to develop down a path increasingly at odds with other highly
developed democracies and I continue to wonder with a free press and a
politically involved citizenry why that should be?

~~~
briancaw2
I think the number of ways the a country as big and powerful and
geographically isolated and culturally diverse as the USA is different than a
rich western democracy is out of scope of a forum comment. But I think the
short answer is that your woes generally fall into 2 categories: fallout from
slavery/racism (prison, capital punishment) and stuff that has to do with
terrorism/being the sole hegemonic power in the world (torture...etc.).

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znmeb
“I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from
you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the President, if I had a
personal e-mail,” Edward Snowden told the Guardian.

Well, he's certainly entitled to believe that, but I seriously doubt he could
have actually done so. He's either deluded, lying, or both.

~~~
Gigablah
Where's your "mistaken" and "misquoted" options?

~~~
stevejohnson
Not misquoted, it's directly from the video of the interview.

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mikejholly
> He is the cheeriest major leaker one is likely to see.

I didn't get that impression at all. He seems to fully comprehend his
situation and it comes through clearly in his interview.

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zer0gravity
I think most of us understand what is the problem with the current state of
affairs, but how many of us actually change their behavior in order to reduce
the power the government has on them?

How many are actually posting links to this article on Google+ or Facebook?

There are technologies that can allow every individual to have its own
personal data center at home, cheaply. It is ultimately a personal choice.
Ignorance comes also with a cost.

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jstrate
I'm surprised the NSA/government agencies trust people like him and Manning
with the nation's secrets. Based on what I've read he doesn't sound like the
most rigorous individual. And Bradley Manning, childhood trauma and seriously
questionable life decisions. Isn't this what the purpose of a security
clearance is?

~~~
vixen99
If you're going to make perjorative comments like this you should at least
provide references/links to what it is you've read and heard that support your
view.

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jstrate
It wasn't intended to be _pejorative_ I honestly want to know how these people
passed whatever tests are required to maintain the United States secrets.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning#Early_life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning#Early_life)

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codex
Two motivations come to mind: he wants recognition and/or he's scared of what
the U.S. will do to him.

~~~
dodyg
He will be discovered sooner or later. So it is better for him to come forward
and have the public attention and his current location to somehow protect him.

He needs to be protected and supported. And we will see in the coming days
whether we actually care about privacy by supporting whistle blowers like him.

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dspeyer
Does anyone know where to find the full text that he has leaked? I see so many
analyses, but I don't trust any of the people writing them. I'd like to look
at the source if possible.

