That's exactly how I feel about this whole NSA/ Edward Snowden situation going on right now. I've been bombarded by so much information that I've found myself struggling to understand the basics. From what I gather, the NSA is a branch of the CIA that essentially gets to spy on people, read their emails, and basically intrude on their lives and call it defending the country. Remember the Patriot Act? It's a lot like that, but an entire agency that 'protects' the country by stripping everyone of their personal privacy. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (preferably nicely, if you don't mind) but operating under the assumption that everyone is a terrorist until their emails prove that they're just a boring soccer mom stressing out about what to make for a preschool snack day seems to the the opposite of the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing that we like to claim is the American way. Don't get me wrong, I love my country and I want to feel safe and protected, but at what cost?
Enter Snowden, which is where I start to get a little fuzzy.
I'll skip the specifics about Snowden's job at the NSA, military service, personal beliefs and so on because if you're reading this right now, I can safely assume that you have both a computer and access to the internet and if you are interested in any of that, you can research it yourself (come on, I'm not going to do all of the work for you). The only truly important thing to know is that he leaked classified information because he felt that he had an obligation to "inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them". Some people called him a hero, most people called him a traitor and absolutely everyone felt the need to mention that he was a college drop-out (which frankly, really pisses me off. Did he tell because he was uneducated? Screw that. The dude was still intelligent enough to get a really important job with the government, so put that in your pipe and smoke it). Regardless of what he has been called, someone somewhere scared the bejesus out of him and he made a break for it. He ran and he ran hard. And he's still running right now.
Does anyone remember the Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive"? Okay, obviously not the same scenario (by a long shot) as Snowden, but for whatever reason, anytime I read about Snowden hiding out in the Moscow airport or seeking political asylum in Iceland, I automatically envisioned Tommy Lee Jones chasing down Harrison Ford, making a dramatic play for justice. I couldn't figure out why until something clicked in my head and I sprung up in bed, wide awake, at 3 am this morning.
They're going to make a movie.
Let's face it, any time anything remotely interesting happens, Hollywood is all over it. As I write this, there's probably a room full of Harvard nerds scratching out a screenplay which will turn into an Oscar-winning movie by next fall, probably starring someone really obnoxious like Jesse Eisenberg. By then the truth of what's really going on will be forgotten under a layer of Hollywood glamor. We'll forget to be angry about the fact that we're all basically spied on on a daily basis and our Twitter feeds will be buzzing with excitement over John McCain's brilliant theatrical debut as CIA director John O. Brennan (because for the love of donuts, those dudes could be twins. Google it now, thank me later).
Most importantly, the lines between reality and truth will become blurred or forgotten entirely. People like me who read everything but still have absolutely no idea what's going on will continue to carry on that way, with Jesse Worst-Actor-Ever Eisenberg's portrayal of Snowden forever replacing the real deal in our memories. We will all remain as clueless as ever.
Which is probably exactly what the NSA wants.
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