Skip to main content

COLUMN - Snowden versus the dragons

One measure of our culture's disdain for whistle-blowers like Edward Snowden can be culled from the pages of a thesaurus.

Beyond "source" and "leaker," few neutral antonyms exist to describe people who divulge alleged wrongdoing by the government or other organizations to the press, while negative synonyms abound - spy, double-agent, rat, snitch, informer, fink, double-crosser, canary, stoolie, squealer, turncoat, betrayer, traitor and so on.

 

We bristle at the scent of whistle-blowers for atavistic reasons: They've violated the norms that bind the group together and must be scorned and punished, and their only allies are like-minded individuals who've deserted the pack-or joined opposing packs-and portions of the press, which occupies a floating niche somewhere between the individual and the group that allows it to thrive on such principled perfidy.

But even the press in aggregate is not a friend to whistle-blowers, as its recent treatment of Snowden attests, what with the deep dives into his teen years (including photos), his education and employment history, his reputation as a loner and a "brainiac," his pants-down hijinks, his online scribblings, his dancer girlfriend, his predilection for (in his own words) "post-coital Krispy Kremes." Squeezing every possible query at every known commercial database, journalists worldwide have aped the National Security Agency's snooping skills to track down Snowden's friends, associates, neighbors, schoolmates, relatives and colleagues to instapaint his portrait.

No matter how generously you read the team portrait, Snowden comes off as a bit of a cocky know-it-all. And how could he not? He did a bodacious, criminal thing. He threatens to commit additional acts of criminal bodaciousness. He maintains the cool-customer persona in his video and print interviews. And he comes off as a little squirrelly and ego-swollen.

But what mortal wouldn't come off a little squirrelly and ego-swollen after non-stop scrutiny by the press, even if they hadn't leaked NSA secrets? I guarantee you that if the press ever gets around to vacuuming your every posting, scrapbooking your most dishy teen pix, and interviewing all the people in your past, it will depict a creep of some variety. Not because you're a creep but because the language and methodology of journalism are ill-equipped to capture normalcy, even when its subjects project normalcy. Journalism is about finding flaws and magnifying them, and surely someone who would spill massive loads of state secrets must contain a few broken parts, right?

Whether Snowden is more psychologically integrated than your average 29-year-old makes for stimulating conversation and fun clicks, but it's not really germane to the secrecy "debate" that even President Barack Obama claimed to "welcome" last week. Once we (the press and readers) exhaust ourselves on the Snowden, "Up Close and Personal" angle, the debate will likely be interrupted, just as the debate about the Pentagon Papers was interrupted by the White House back in 1971, when Daniel Ellsberg dumped them to the press.

About two weeks after the New York Times began publishing the papers in June 1971, President Richard Nixon told National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and Attorney General John Mitchell that he didn't want Ellsberg to get a fair trial for leaking. "Let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail," Nixon said. "Don't worry about his trial. Just get everything out. Try him in the press. Try him in the press. Everything, John, that there is on the investigation, get it out. Leak it out. We want to destroy him in the press. Is that clear?"

As Tom Wells wrote in his 2001 book, "Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg", "The FBI pursued leads on Ellsberg's past, personality, and lifestyle." The White House could easily tag Ellsberg as a sex maniac because he had loads of sex and liked to talk about it; a pervert because he collected pornography; as nuts because he saw a psychiatrist; and a swinger because, as Gay Talese wrote in "Thy Neighbor's Wife", he swung. This, of course, had nothing to do with the substance of the Pentagon Papers, but it was the weapon Nixon, who was bragging to his White House underlings that he had convicted Alger Hiss in the press "before he ever got to the grand jury", liked to stockpile.

Nixon's men planted with conservative columnist Victor Lasky the baseless smear that Ellsberg had given the papers to the Soviet Union, as well. In a memo to Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, White House special counsel Charles Colson wrote of his disappointment with the response to Lasky's column, "which got the predictable reaction because of its author," and of the similar briefings he'd given to Howard K. Smith of ABC News and Jerald terHorst of the Detroit News to "develop the Ellsberg conspiracy." I suspect we won't have to wait long for the "Snowden conspiracy" to manifest itself. Just the other day, Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon reported Pentagon "concerns" that Snowden might give intelligence secrets to the Chinese. (He rejects the notion that he's a Chinese spy.)

Compare Ellsberg's treatment to early press coverage of Snowden's personal life, which injured his standing. Not for a moment do I allege that the Obama White House has assigned a "plumbers" unit to spread the hype. I allege something much worse - the readiness of some in the press to contort into something bizarre the sort of behaviors and personal history they would shrug off as "normal" if exhibited by a family member. Is Snowden paranoid? Well, yes, they're after him, aren't they? Wouldn't you be? Is Snowden a tad grandiose in his interviews? Well, yes, but if you were the leaker and had never taken media training classes, you'd probably sound grandiose in your interviews. Do his statements seem unsatisfying and inconsistent? Well, wouldn't yours if you were attempting to describe the entirety of the national security state in such limited space?

Although Snowden has been exiled for breaking the compact he made with his employers and his government, his rebellion rings too many notes from heroic literature for us to automatically dismiss him. How many times have we read the story (or played the video game) about the brilliant and brave young man who hears the call, defies the established order, goes on a sacrificial quest to a magical place where he defeats evil monsters that menace mankind, battles madness, and after many, many tests (and at some personal loss) finally returns with a boon for all mankind? The rebel in this version even has a pole-dancing princess that he's been separated from! Snowden combines elements of Luke Skywalker, King Arthur, Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Jesus Christ, and Neo from The Matrix into one modern tale. Being an egomaniac and a narcissist are just part of the job description.

As a student of anime and a cultural child of the Star Wars saga, Snowden can't help but notice that by stealing the NSA documents and flying off to Hong Kong to share them, he's living our most enduring myths, following the instructions laid down in church, in books, at the cinema, on television, in comic books and in video games. And unlike earlier whistle-blowers, who ordinarily suffer for decades for their transgressions, Snowden appears to be working from a complete script in which he's the ultimate victor.

(Jack Shafer)

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o