Today the world was blessed with a new hero: Edward Snowden
June 9th, 2013 | 
Author: By Jan Oberg
Spontaneous thoughts at having seen this interview three times in a row.
One moral individual standing up for true democracy and freedom against one of the most evil systems the world has ever seen.
The Guardian: “Snowden will go down in history as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world’s most secretive organisations – the NSA.
In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: “I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions,” but “I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.”
I am deeply moved by Edward Snowden. Very deeply. Such civil courage. Such moral awareness. Such knowledge. Such intellectual clarity. Such determination combined with the humility of serving a higher cause.
Do I at all understand what this one single, determined individual is up against? How he dares? No, I don’t think I do. It is too great, too unique, too rare in a world of so much opportunism and “somebody else must do what must be done”.
I’m reminded of Gandhi’s dictum that “A burning passion coupled with absolute detachment is the key to all success.”
Today the world was blessed with a hero of such proportions that it is hard to believe it is true. As long as there is an Ellsberg, a Manning and now a Snowden – and thousands of other courageous unsung heroes fighting for a better world, I will not abandon my hope.
For years I have ended my courses and public lectures by saying that I don’t believe much in peace movements but I believe that every human being is, potentially, a peace movement. Snowden is yet another living proof of this.
– Jan Oberg
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Its scary to think that NSA officials have testified before the US Congress and denied doing what Snowden has proven they are doing. The US Government has gone “rogue” and no longer responds to elected officials, kind of scary. Thanks for a well written article, its time everyone stands and supports this young man, who has probably lost his life, for our benefit.
The recent E Snowden scandal is really interesting.It obviously features the extraordinary difficulties America has with personal privacy.Yet it’s not only our federal government. Even ordinary Americans are now snooping on each other. Without knowing anything about you; my grandma,Tony,your nextdoor neighbor,Sammy can use online tools like IntelliGator and learn your criminal records, address, employment history…etc. And like the NSA – it is 100% legal.Immoral but still legal.This must change. In today’s online age, there’s a lot info nowadays. And government online hackers are getting more creative every day. Where does it end?The American Govt domestic spying story is really troublesome. But honestly – what did we expect. First off Hollywood has already set up Americans for this degree of breach. We all cheer whenever CSI breaks into cell phone conversations to snatch the “bad” guys. And with or without a warrant, we have zero problem with it. But we act shocked when we learn the exact same technology exists and is being used on us.Also – You don’t need to be a big government to spy. Advertisers spy on us all the time. Any individual with a computer can dig into your history from Google background searches. Internet spying tools are making classic private detectives a thing of the past.It’s all very legal – and all very alarming.