06.19.13
Ellsberg on Snowden
This, in my mail, from Daniel Ellsberg on another petition making the rounds, an ACLU-sponsored plea to undo NSA spying:
There has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material …
The technical capabilities are in place. With the flip of the switch or another major attack, we may find ourselves in a dangerous situation in which average citizens, along with Congresspersons, journalists and their sources, even judges, are watched around the clock and are afraid to dissent. The core fixtures of our democracy—the right to protest, the right to live freely in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness without government intrusion—could be weakened beyond repair.
I remain afraid of this reality, but we cannot hesitate to address it. I believe we now have the information and inspiration we need to stand up before it’s too late to turn back …
I remain both pessimistic and skeptical. It’s already too late for many things.
Do Internet petitions work? Do you think the national security megaplex will be wilted by tens of thousands of people using their smartphones to digitally sign an on-line petition?
Go ahead, stab that app with your righteous digit of anger! Take that, nosy surveillance state!