Political Pardons: The Case for Snowden

Sometimes I just have to write, and, well, I only have a public hiking journal (that I never write in), and no one will really read this, but I want to remember this day of pardons a few years from now when they come around again and another set of people aren't pardoned who deserve it.

I recently put myself on a 14 day diet from Social Media.  I am still debating whether Blogger is social media, but Twitter surely is...  But, like all diets I've ever tried, I am going for the Chocolate Chunk Cookie while it's fresh.  So, I am breaking my fast momentarily to talk about the one political issue I cared about in the last few weeks.

As a pure Constitutionalist, I just couldn't listen to any more nonsense from either side about any of the political mayhem strangling the very last breath out of the Statue of Liberty.  I don't have cable, and I don't trust the news, so I've not watched or read much of that, either.  I am in a constant search for unbiased news.  Give me the facts; let me decide what to think about them. It seems that unbiased journalism, if it ever did exist, is clearly a thing of the past.  

But, alas, I digress.  I did wonder who Trump would pardon in his last act as President.  So I peeped at that list this morning before work.  I agree that L'il Wayne should be pardoned.  The guy had a gun on his own airplane. 

I read through the rest of the list and it was the usual "pocket stuffers" and "other upper class crooks" and a spy tossed in for good measure.  But, the one person I thought for sure he'd pardon (just to piss off Biden...seeing as Biden is one of the reasons he's in exile in Russia) was Ed Snowden.

Now, before you get all kinds of crazy on me, remember this.  I believe in free speech, free assembly, and all kinds of other cool and nifty stuff outlined in the US Constitution.  This is my opinion; you are free to have your opinion.  It's how free speech works.  

I once believed Snowden to be a traitor, but I do not believe he is one now.  I initially felt he stole state secrets and sold them to the highest bidder.  In my world of teaching people to want to become ethical hackers, I saw no reasonable defense for his actions.  But, in the years since, I can honestly say I stand corrected.  If anything, Snowden is absolutely consistent.  His message has been the same since day one.  He didn't sell out to the highest bidder; he exposed illegal activities our government was conducting on the "reasonable privacy" promised to American citizens.  Since then, the Supreme Court has ruled that many of these activities were, indeed, illegal. So, if anything, he is probably the #1 dude in the world that has given up his freedom for ours.  I am pretty sure he gets lots of fan mail, so I won't expect him to read this, but, if you do, Snowden, don't think you are bad ass enough to have "Fortunate Son" played for you when you enter a room.  That only happens in movies about war.

The campaign to tarnish Snowden's character is a little bit hilarious.  Probably not to him, mind you.  Apparently he married a stripper (he didn't), and is some kind of big money seeking leech (he isn't).  But, if we get everyone tangled into thinking about his stripper wife and how to get one and his money hungry ways (the guy has only one outfit so far as I can tell)...then we have secured the shroud with which we blind reasonable and intelligent adults.

If we send people down THAT rabbit hole, they won't realize he is showing us the GAPING GRAND CANYON OF ASSAULT on our privacy rights.  We can't be expected to understand all that mumbo jumbo, but if we can discredit his choices in wives...well, then, we have an immoral dude, for sure!  (Disclaimer: I know not one shred of anything about Mrs. Snowden, but I can honestly give her mad respect for leaving her family and country to support Mr. Snowden.  It takes a lot of courage to be the wife of America's 21st Century Benedict Arnold).  But, what we've really done, once again, is missed the forest for imaginary trees, and the exposure of our lost freedoms remain locked behind senseless blabber.

Ed Snowden is our  Henry David Thoreau. I don't think Snowden is lucky enough to have an Aunt pay his poll taxes and spring him, less he would have done that by now, but, he's certainly written enough and spoken enough about the loss of Freedom and Liberty in the one country in the world that champions those beliefs (on paper).

Or, he's the guy in the famous Nazi era photograph (above) where everyone in the photo (but him) is saluting Adolf. He just refuses.  He was probably shot later, but, still, amidst the madness of the people around him, he knew Hitler was an asshole and his hype was bullshit.  He stood his ground.  

We all hope we would be that one person who wouldn't put up with nonsense.  We all hope we'd be that one person to stand up for what's right.  The other people in that photo probably believed they were right and he was a traitor.  We look at that picture now and say, hmmmm, there was at least ONE guy who saw the evil...kudos to that guy!  But, now we have this other guy, sitting in Russia with his not-a-stripper wife, wearing his one outfit, and we call him a traitor.  It's time the let the guy come home.

Trump missed the mark, and I am sad about that.  He had a real opportunity to put his words into action.  Didn't he JUST LAST WEEK tell his followers to "do what's right" and "at all costs"?  Well, now, apparently that only applies if you are carrying his name on a flag.

So, Ed Snowden & Mrs. Snowden, I am sorry you can't come home.  I am sorry you have to continue to fight for American freedom from the most ironic of locations.  We know, pretty sure, that Biden isn't going to pardon you, so it will be at least 8 more years before you can come back.  But, keep up the good fight.  Be that guy in the picture...because more people will see that photo and champion you than any other person in the photo.  

(NOTE:  I looked up the photo and found the story about the man (August Landmesser) who was brave enough to marry a Jewish woman and refused to salute Asshat Hitler.  It's a sad, sad story, and you should read it.  It is also where I found the photo).