U.S. surveillance puts privacy rights in jeopardy
Ryan Tareski
As many of you may know, Edward Snowden, a 29 year old former NSA and CIA computer specialist, leaked top secret information on British and United States mass surveillance programs back in May.
The information depicted in Snowden’s leaks revealed that both nations have programs in place that monitored citizen’s phone calls, emails and other internet activity.
“Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re being watched and recorded,” said Snowden
For me this was a terrifying and offensive revelation.
Of course I have always known that the government had has the ability to do such things when necessary, but this appears to be something else entirely.
As citizens of a free nation we are entitled to privacy, and more importantly as citizens of this great nation we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.
Instead it seems that the democratic process has found a way to twist post–9/11 paranoia into we, the people, surrendering our constitutional rights.
This dissipation of rights perhaps began with thePatriot Act patriot act back in October of 2001, which significantly increased law enforcement’s ability to gather information within the country.
As a 24 year old U.S. citizen I am personally mortified by all of this.
People our age have been using email, social media, and cell phones for most of our lives as individuals without a second thought.
One can’t help but feel a bit trapped by this.
There is no practically no escaping the digital age, while remaining a functioning and participating member of modern society.
What is one to do?
Generations before us were provided the opportunity to have a personal identity as well as a public identity, and if what Snowden has revealed has any truth, that isn’t a luxury anyone in our age bracket has been afforded.
Snowden had accomplished an astounding amount forthat of a high school dropout, but he felt compelled to do his duty as an American citizen to inform the masses of what was going on.
Some have called him a hero, and others a terrorist.
I believe that he deserves every Americans‘ respect for doing what he thought was right and displaying the integrity that only comes from that of a selfless individual.
