No Secrets, We Are Always Being Watched
Glenn Greenwald, born on March 6, 1967, is an American lawyer, journalist, and author. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller: “No Place To Hide” which revolves around the central theme that we are constantly being watched. Our lives revolve around the internet and that has allowed the U.S government to invade and breach our privacy.
Greenwald was contacted by former CIA Agent, Edward Snowden who had information about the U.S exploiting its power to breach the privacy of American citizens. The U.S government has used the attacks of 9–11 and other acts of terrorism to secretly pass laws to create agencies that would monitor the activity of US citizens. The NSA (National Security Agency) monitors and collects information that is available on an electronic spectrum.
Greenwald argues that it is the nature of humankind to want a safe place, they can escape judgemental eyes. Many individuals claim that they have nothing to hide and mass surveillance doesn’t scare them. Greenwald’s response to this is to ask for their email so that he can just scroll through their information. Not one person has taken him up on that offer and it shows that humans know the importance of privacy. “Mass surveillance creates a prison in the mind that is a much more subtle and much more effective means of fostering compliance with social norms.”
In his novel, “No Place To Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, And the U.S Surveillance State” Greenwald established that nobody is entitled to their own opinions online. If you ever post or wrote anything it can be traced. President Geroge W. Bush allowed the NSA to use electronic means of surveillance. After 9–11 , Bush gave the agency to eavesdrop into any source of information without a warrant and this violated the fourth amendment, which allows American citizens to be free of search and seizure. Bush argued that is was justified because it allowed the government to protect the citizens of the United States. Personally, the only place that I think our thoughts remain private is in our heads. As soon as we express those thoughts, our ideas are susceptible to debate and judgement.
By:Ranveer Gill
