Considering Ourslves as the Terrioist

A few months ago,  Edward Snowden leaked 200,000 classified documents about the U.S. National Security Agency, or better known as, the NSA. He revealed to the public that the government was practicing domestic spying, from reading U.S. citizens emails to listening in on their private phone calls. Yes, this is a huge invasion of privacy, but is it justified? 

 

Many people are extremely outraged and have the right to be. But I would like to add that anyone who turns their anger towards the current president should turn their anger elsewhere, perhaps to congress, who have played a part in monitoring the NSA. Or how about towards Harry Truman who founded the agency? Although I do not believe that the president did not have any knowledge of the secret programs and activities that were taking place, I do believe there are others that should take the blame alongside him. The president has repeatedly defended the NSA’s activities under the patriot act- an act of congress signed into law by President Bush in 2001. So before we go blaming one man, we should look at everyone else who is involved. I believe our government should take the blame as whole. And it is good to note that these activities have been taking place for years, longer than Obama’s or Bush’s era.

As for the act of domestic spying, I don’t like the idea of it, but I do believe it is necessary. Yes, our security agencies are supposed to protect us from terrorism, mainly foreign acts of terrorism, but hasn’t their not been a surge in domestic terrorism these past years? How many mass shootings have happened since 9/11? And the many of these shootings have been carried out by U.S. citizens, born and raised on U.S. soil. So I do believe that while we need to be extremely aware of foreign terrorism, we need to start be very cautious and come to the realization that anyone can become a terrorist. And maybe the NSA is taking it a little too far, but I think we only feel that way because this is just the first time many people have considered the idea of protecting ourselves from ourselves. I’m sure there are other ways to go about it. But how would you do it? Where would you start when you wanted to monitor homegrown terrorist out of the 300 million people we live with? The only way to do this, in my eyes, would be to take a look at everyone. So I am not irritated by the term of “mass surveillance”. I mean, it’s basically practical that there will be a large amount, or mass, of data collected when monitoring that many people. 

Domestic surveillance will become a thing of the future, and rightly so. The Al Qaeda are not the only people out to harm us. It has been proven through the years that American citizens also commit malicious acts of terrorism. Even if the NSA is doing these things illegally, part of me believe it is a good idea.