‘There is a way which seems right to a man…’
There is now a new way that we are getting increasingly familiar with by the day. Hmmn, how novel. Well, the typical plot has the main character uncovering a conspiracy, usually within the corridors of power. Usually, the character in question is one with a far superior level of intelligence. He may or may not shoot. He is also a master of disguise. He is highly calculative, rarely makes mistakes and so smoothly gets himself out of uncompromising situations. He is good-looking, mild-mannered and has a taste for the high life. Women are drawn to him as though he were a magnet. His brain is his asset and he is sound in international diplomacy. He is rich. He is connected and he travels far and wide, usually in search of nothing in particular. He exists, in the pages of a novel….
Or at least, that was what majority of us thought. Until the world met Snowden. Edward Snowden. The guy’s a computer nerd who was working with one of America’s national security agencies. He stumbled across some info relating to how the government was keeping tabs on its citizens. His ‘conscience’ pricked him and he released this scoop to a media house. From there, the news sold like hot cakes fresh from the oven. Good move? Maybe, maybe not. One of the basic human rights is the right to privacy. Snowden felt this right is being infringed upon as a result of the surveillance that the government is keeping on its citizens. On the other hand, in a world as porous as the one we live in today, nobody can vouch for the character of anybody else. Your gentle neighbour yesterday could be Boko Haram’s leader tommorow. Snowden’s release of this info could jeopardize America’s security since the perpetrators of evil are now fully aware that everybody’s being watched. This would only lead to better planning on their part.
But did Snowden do the right thing? That’s a relative question which would be defined by what you think ‘right’ is.
I, for one, am particular about what could have driven Snowden to do what he did at such a time as this. I did a little research and could only come up with one reason: Adventure. Yea, The Adventurer’s Life. Take a good look at the Snowden situation now. He’s playing hide-and-seek with the nations of the world as his playing ground. He’s a brain afterall and he has consistently proven that via his understanding of international diplomatic policies. He’s meeting Presidents of countries. He’s literally smashing nations against each other by virtue of the requests for asylum that he’s sending to countries that do not want a ‘cold war’ with America.
Apparently, we can say Snowden is ‘living the life’. The kind of life we only knew in the pages of the novel. Funny enough, with the Snowden example, authors have found newer materials to base their stories on. Consequently, the readers would find more stimuli to whet their subconscious apetite for adventure. A new trend has now been imprinted on the sands of time. A pacesetter has blazed the trail and it is only a matter of time that more people tread along this life from the books. Indeed, the adventurer’s dream life now seems to be the new, novel way!
