Saturday, January 4, 2014

Snowden's Mission Accomplished? What's Next?

Well, Jack (Snowden) is still in the clouds. Cupping his hands, he's yelling down the  now limp beanstalk, "Mission Accomplished." I guess he got hoarse from yelling (revealing) rose-colored secrets he unearthed (unclouded?) of the dealings used by the Spy Programs to maintain the power of those in power.  He now wants to end his significant Spy for Main Street tenure, come down the beanstalk and resume his life. What he isn't carrying, however, is the Golden Goose that lays the golden eggs. Someone else will have to climb up the now limp and even more dangerous beanstalk for them. One man can only do so much alone.

In saying that Snowden was a spy for Main Street and his mission was accomplished, what are we actually saying? First, Main Street never employed Snowden to be a spy. Snowden's employer was Circumstance. So it's probably more appropriate to say, Snowden was a spy from Main Street hired by Circumstance.

Either way, now what? Does it matter that we now know some of the important details and part of the extent of the spy programs against Main Street?

The Transparency Kick

We appear to be waking up, getting up, and walking out the door into the Age of Real and False Quotidian Transparency. Almost accurate. We also live it behind the closed doors of our homes and inside our cars. It's hard to find a closet or cave to get some privacy in. We have a problem that matters. The transparency kick--first voiced by Obama during his campaign--we're on is not all that it's made out to be. This new lethal toy--transparency--has been turned against the people in order to maintain obedience and used systematically against the government in order to maintain obedience on Main Street. The ugly side to making Washington transparent is that the Obama administration has made transparency the goal, the win, the endpoint, with nothing of much importance to follow except Now you know! Get in line anyway.

How democratic!

Actually no. All totalitarian states make sure that their citizens know they are spied on. That's one way they maintain their power and keep Main Street obedient. For example, Russian citizens know they are spied on.

Since Snowden's job is done, we can review who is benefiting from the transparency of the revelations and how.

First, those being on spied on certainly benefit by knowing they are being spied on. Not because they now know. What's the benefit in that? So you know you have cancer? It's good to know, yes. But knowing is less than half of the benefit and fizzles into no benefit at all without the cure. What's the cure? There are several ways to cure cancer. Perhaps there are multiple ways to cure this disease that has infected Main Street and threatens to debilitate if not kill. Where do we start? That should be a main goal of Main Street's for 2014. Perhaps Occupy is a good starting point.

What do we--not Snowden--do with the information he's been shouting and dropping out of the clouds? What exactly are the golden eggs? What exactly is the Golden Goose in this? Since he's leaving these behind once he climbs down the stalk, how do we get both? Where is this beanstalk anyway? We could use a few real Main Street Think Tanks as well as a few real Main Street Funds. Instead of giving money to political parties, to organizations, to useless vendors for useless objects, we might consider establishing a fund for Main Street. Occupy has the right idea in setting up funds for struggling homeowners or victims of natural disasters. But with a billion dollar fund to pay for lost wages and benefits, a lot of people on Main Street could feel secure enough to engage in a general strike to put an end to the spy programs against it and to the Austerity Program, the two are Orwellian linked. Keeping people strung out on debt or shaky survival creates more obedience. It's all about the money at this point.

Benefits to NSA

Unfortunately, those doing the spying will continue to benefit more at this point from Snowden's revelations unless Main Street takes the next step. These programs have the Golden Goose and Golden eggs in their vaults.  By convincing Main Street it has no choice but to be spied on (even if by degree) the NSA keeps the goose and eggs and wins big time. Now that Main Street knows it may even bring relief to those trying to keep the the spy programs less hidden, Now they can play more video games or take more vacations. Out in the open, these programs can be run easier, more efficiently and guess what, even save the taxpayers money. Mostly, the NSA wins as long as the programs continue and as long as they continue to be accepted without a fight.

Who's Intact

Snowden may be out of America but appears intact. Everything at the NSA and other programs appear intact as well. Very little or nothing has changed on its end. Even its behavior deemed unconstitutional hasn't dented much. The NSA even denies its spying is spying. Courts continue to deem spying okay. Even Congress wanting to know if the NSA is spying on it doesn't incite outrage. Obama's transparency program continues to applaud transparency so he can assure the public that everything is just fine.

WikiLeaks Steps Up to the Microphone

At the Chaos Communication Congress in Germany, Sarah Harrison (who traveled with and stayed with Snowden for four months) reveals what WikiLeaks has revealed.  Speaking from the Ecuadorean  Julian Assange is calling for computer hackers to unite against NSA.


My novel, Plato's Screw is now available in ebook at Amazon. It will be available in print in late January. Plato's Screw is a satire on love, work and surveillance.



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