I remember who I was at 29 years old. I was always interested in left of center politics. I had dreams of going to Washington. I had an ego the size of Mt. Rushmore and I thought god, fate or something was on my side. I thought I could charm the pants off of the world's most egregious tyrant. In short I wanted notoriety and certainly power as I felt the country of my birth would surely give me that. Many years later I got few of those things I thought I would.
I can only imagine the size of ego and the idealism this man NSA leaker Ed Snowden possesses. Idealism is commendable. I had lots of it then. The years as they passed took their toll and I began to see as George Orwell did, when tyrannies are overthrown they often do not bring a better outcome as they are replaced by other tyrannies. We need to look at the Middle East to prove that is so true. Why? Because man is animal with a variety of perceptions. We do not all think alike. This nation is perhaps one of the very very few whose revolution brought something better -- not for all but for many and it brought a ray of hope that things COULD in fact get better if one tried.
As an adult I put away childish things and I saw this country for what it is HUGE and with a variety of competing interests. The fact that it runs as well as it does is the eighth wonder of the world. Mr. Snowden will have his 15 minutes of fame, make people THINK he is an idealist, either a goat or a hero and he will bask for a short time in the glory of the ends justifying the means politics. But as the play Chicago tells us, fame is a fleeting thing though glorious while one has it. It will NOT be there for long. Sooner or later this massive country's people will become board with this story, drop Snowden and go on to the next big or not so big scandal or thing.
Mr. Snowden, I fear you will lose in the end. In the end you are sought after prey by the lion of the jungle. You may THINK you will evade its grasp. You won't at least not for long and then you will be abandoned by the people, by the media and in permanent exile from the comfort this nation once provided you.
You can be sure, Mr. Snowden and Glenn Greenwald too if our enemies succeed they will accord you NONE of the freedoms you enjoy now, had or would have had had you not abandon your national security oath and the nation of your birth. Life will go on and it will go on very well, indeed, without you!
