Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Two Closely Connected Stories

In the first story, Edward Snowden, an American, leaks a zillion unread surveillance reports from our government's intelligence system. Leaking in public is against the law, but it proves that the government is watching each of us, reading our mail, listening to our phone conversations and so on. These days there is nothing Big Brother doesn't know about us. Nothing is private any more. And all of this is done in the name of national security. 

In the second story a postal worker, another American, decides he is going to fly a gyrocopter into Washington, D. C. and land it in the forbidden zone of the state capitol. Once there he intends to distribute protest letters to members of congress. This enterprise is against the law. Before taking off, the postal worker spends several days blogging about his plan and sends a letter to a newspaper, which publishes it. In the letter he describes what he intends to do. Next he vaults into his gyrocopter, whatever that is, and flies into the forbidden zone. His mission succeeds. The authorities are taken completely by surprise. The breach of security is astonishing. But can you blame anyone? I mean, who knew?

 

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