I began forming an opinion about America long before I knew how the government functioned or what a country was. As a child in public school I learned about that iconic moment in George Washington's childhood when, after cutting down his father's favorite cherry tree, he freely admitted his wrongdoing, his compulsive truth-telling words being branded into my young conscience: "I cannot tell a lie."
That began to form the foundation in me for believing America to be above reproach, always and naturally walking the high road of moral rectitude. We were, after all, "one nation under God" which meant in my young mind that we, as a nation, were mindful of "God's ways", whatever those might be. As the "father" of this nation, somehow I believed George Washington's moral genes were passed on to all of us by sheer force of citizenship.
Has that iconic story colored our rose-colored glasses so much that we cannot see clearly beyond them? Isn't it time to peel away the gloss of that legend and see with clarity what we have become?
When the news of Edward Snowden's revelations of the National Security Agency's vast and seemingly limitless snooping first made the headlines, I was rattled but I wasn't surprised. Somewhere along the line my perception of this country lost the shine of my earlier impressions. I saw the underhanded maneuvers of political parties to derail legislation, and heard the double-speak -- and downright lies -- of our elected officials regarding the atrocities of war. Year after year I slowly allowed the bits of the unthinkable to be thought, and yet tried to maintain a general sense of realism rather than falling into cynicism. (The trap of cynicism, as I see it, is that we become disempowered by our hopelessness and bitterness. I believe our national story isn't over, and we can still direct the outcome of the chapters ahead of us.) This is the tension I hold for America: I love my country, and I am embarassed by what it has become.
As the swirl and fury of Snowden's leaks continued to rise and Snowden's safety and fate were in the balance, it occurred to me that his actions were playing out the theme of the great children's story, The Emperor's New Clothes. (We have Hans Christan Andersen to thank for the version we're most familiar with, but apparently the gist of the story predates him.) In that story, all the townsfolk are hoodwinked into going along with the grand deception that the Emperor's new outfit, spun of a fine, invisible cloth. The tailors have convinced the Emperor that anyone not fit for their position, or who is stupid or incompetent, will not be able to see the fabric. And so the Grand Deception begins. Everyone goes along with the story, for fear of being singled out as the dumb one. And then the child, not influenced by the stakes and not conditioned to "go along", blurts out what everyone fears is true, but no one has the guts to say. "The Emperor isn't wearing any clothes! He's naked!"
By exposing the privacy-violating practices of the NSA, Snowden risked saying what perhaps many feared to be true, but would not say: America has lost sight of the high ideals of democracy, and freely cuts corners on the constitutional protections promised us. This isn't a partisan issue: the whole enterprise of American politics and our resulting government have been weakened by insidious rationalizations and dangerous assumptions of our squeaky-clean, God-given role on the global stage.
I, for one, support clemency for Edward Snowden. The situation is complex, and there are legitimate charges (e.g., theft of information) against him. But it could be said he risked his life to reveal what is eating away at the foundation of our democracy. Years from now I hope we will remember him as a hero for the ideals of a free society.
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I strongly recommend this editorial in the New York Times favoring clemency for Edward Snowden.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/edward-snowden-whistle-blower.html?_r=0
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