Edward Snowden – Permanent Record – Review

It was only a matter of time before Edward Snowden would publish his account of 2013, when, after several months of agonising soul searching, his inward battle of Right and Wrong, though an American patriot in the fullest sense of this term, decided to whistle-blow about the unconstitutional crimes of his employers, the United States government.

This work is certainly personal. Indeed, not so much a justification for his actions, but a narrative about our once free internet, that since 9/11, has become Orwell's Big Brother, infiltrating all of our lives, listening and watching our private behaviours, all in the name of “National Security”; only to find this pornographic intrusion by the government wasn't about protecting innocent lives, but to acquire information on the people, in order to control us; it's about money and power, and that's what many people seem to miss. Snowden is not a traitor but a patriot for the people, revealing a corrupt and nasty government.

Like most memoirs, it begins with the subjects family heritage, moving towards family and his upbringing as a child. We read that Snowden was really of a new generation, a tech generation, that has changed all our lives. Ed's father worked for the military as an engineer, and would bring home the latest gadgets, and little Ed was smitten with the whys of the technology. In a word, he became a tech- geek like so many others his age had in developed countries during this time in history. After 9/11, this gave him an edge. Like many of us, after 9/11, he wanted to serve his country to combat the enemy. After an unlucky stint in the army, breaking a leg, he was discharged .Because of his interest and self taught know how of the computer, he moved through the ranks of the IC (Intelligence Community) and he writes about those experiences as a man on a mission for his country, only to find later, working for the CIA, he was a tech-spook (my term), finding those people deemed the enemy, weaknesses, faults or black-mailing actions to to turn them into CIA assets. To be sure, this was not Snowden's cup of tea. Snowden is a tech man.

Rather than summarise this well-written memoir, let me get to the point of why Ed Snowden decided to throw away a promising career, family and home, in order to expose the crimes of his government.

Let me quote from the last chapter, that truly encapsulates why Snowden whistle-blowed on the crimes of his country:

If at any point during your journey through this book you paused for a moment over a term you wanted to clarify or investigate further and typed it into a search engine – and if that term happened to be in some way suspicious, a term like ZKEYSCORE, for example – congrats: you're in the system, a victim of your own curiosity.

During this time, the NSA and the UK had the capability to enter your device, laptop, Phone, etc, track your movement, and by way of ZKEYSCORE, view and listen to your personal life in the most intimate ways. If by chance the algorithm indicates you might be a threat: Your entire life is on audio and video, capturing your every action, keystroke, photo-taken, phone call, most intimate connections – everything. And this information is stored in a cloud for evermore. Truly, forever. And can be used against you at any time.

If you do not care about this intrusion by our governments, than you must be part of the plan, or simply stupid, not understanding a citizens freedom, liberty and privacy Rights as a individual living in a :democracy.

Of course in 2013, this information turned into Right wing talking points. The Military Industrial Complex went into panic mode. “Snowden is a traitor.” “Snowden has put our soldiers in harms way.” Even Obama stated, Snowden should have followed proper lines. Rubbish! Because of the antiquated Espionage Act, used wrongly to prosecute whistle blowers, is a one way ticked to Maxim Security. In fact Snowden attempted to go on proper lines and was told he was crazy to attempt whistle-blowing on his superiors. Never a good career move, indeed.

Snowden lists some of the changes in legislation regarding massive surveillance on Americans and people around the world. To my way of thinking, writing this review in 2019, I believe nothing has changed. Our governments are rogue, including the corporations that bribe them. I believe these invasive and pornographic infiltration of our lives continues. These people, IC, government and corporate media have quashed it. Pulling our attention to pulp scandals and Trump's big mouth.

We can encrypt our lives against Big Brother. After reading Ed Snowden's book, I know we can. But the technology, like all issues in the realm of ethics, has surpassed our time to pull back, and analyse, debate and finally decide, as a people, what is the good for all of us.