NSA: Memory Holes and Constant Monitoring

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“And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain.”
― George Orwell, 1984

The novel 1984 by George Orwell is prophetical. Exemplifying a submissiveness towards and idolization of authoritarian governments, Orwell presents the status of modern society in 1984. Events surrounding Edward Snowden illustrate Orwell’s concept of memory holes - the series of tubing that scraps of papers are sent to to be destroyed. The American government’s attempts to obscure and divert attention away from the NSA scandal typify the mindset cultivating in modern times.
A Google search of “Edward Snowden” will come up with questions of where the ‘whistleblower’ is now, theories of whether or not he is in Russia, or what the US has planned for him. While the documents he released are floating around the internet, the focus of many articles are on him. Attention has diverted from the NSA to Snowden, creating serious ramifications. When people focus more on the man who leaked the information, they are focusing less on the information leaked. Regardless of the ad hominem aspect, the concerns should have already bubbled over in 2006. An NBC News article by Eileen Sullivan reported on November 19, 2013: “According to court records from 2009, after repeated assurances the NSA would obey the court's rules, it acknowledged that it had collected material improperly... the government said its violations were caused by ‘poor management, lack of involvement by compliance officials and lack of internal verification procedures, not by bad faith.’” And while reports came out of those issues in 2009, hostilities towards the NSA were quickly forg...

... middle of paper ...

...uppert, Julian. "We Should Look at the Content of the Snowden Files – Not the Messenger." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. .
Maurer, Al. "Why the NSA PRISM Program Should Terrify America." Washington Times. N.p., 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. .
Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print.
Sullivan, Eileen. "NSA Reported Its Own Violations to Intelligence Court in 2009, Files Show." NBC News. Associated Press, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. .

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