Wednesday, October 16, 2013

US GOVERNMENT CAUGHT RED HANDED IN VIETNAM LIES


            First of all, I thought that the group presentation was very on point, I loved every bit of it!  The handout was very helpful, and I learned quite a bit about the constitutional premises within journalism, specifically the Pentagon Papers and Edward Snowden.  The most interesting part to me was the debate that we had about the Snowden case.

I read two articles that talked about the Snowden case, both of which are very compelling and interesting.  The first article is located here:  http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/16/mps-investigate-guardian-edward-snowden-leaks.  This article talks about how members of parliament are investing the Guardian’s role in the Snowden leaks.

The second article that I read is located here:  http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/16/mps-investigate-guardian-edward-snowden-leaks.  This article, as the title alludes, is talking about how Snowden isn’t a hero, even though he is seen that way in the eyes of most American citizens.  The main argument is that he compromised the national security of the US because terrorists could now dodge the US’s surveillance tactics.  I’m not sure whether I think of him as a hero or not, but it’s a compelling debate.

The dispersion of information is an important component of democracy, but I think that a line should be drawn when lives are absolutely compromised.  In Snowden’s case, I feel like surveillance isn’t necessarily the most effective method of security, and no large scale attacks have happened since the release, so I don’t buy that it compromised the national security just yet.  If a newspaper is about to publish something that would directly harm the life of one police officer, for instance, I think that would be unjust and shouldn’t be allowed.  It’s a tough debate, but very interesting!

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