Note to the reader: This column first ran in August 2013 to the clamor surrounding Edward Snowden’s stealing NSA documents and taking refuge in Russia. This past Friday the movie “Citizenfour,” a documentary about Snowden. opened up in theaters across the nation. My take on Snowden has not changed and so I am releasing this column again.
Much has been made of the about the actions of Edward Snowden and his taking of secret NSA and other federal documents which outline the governments monitoring of both American citizens, at home and abroad, and foreign governments. The question of his guilt or innocence will be decided in a court of law.
The other question is whether or not he acted within the historical realm of civil disobedience (CD). For me, the answer is no. He did not act within the historical realm of CD because he fled to a foreign country to seek asylum rather than stay in this country to face the consequences of his action.
CD has a long and varied history dating back to the times of Gandhi, Jesus and Socrates. Though separated by centuries, each of these men decrying the injustices of the law understood the importance of the rule of law. By standing their ground and knowingly facing imprisonment and even death, they did not hide. Believing their mission lie in changing the law, not just breaking it, they preached peaceful disobedience. In doing so, they were not anarchist or traitors.
The history of CD in the U.S. is based on citizens confronting lawmakers when their rights and privileges were ignored or treaded on. The rallying cry in the Boston Harbor “taxation with out representation” laid the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence. The Anti-War movement of 1849 led to the incarceration of Henry David Thoreau. The Women’s Suffrage Movement lasted from 1848-1920 when thousand of women marched in the streets, endured hunger strikes and submitted to arrest in order to gain the right to vote. Workers were organized by the IWW and CIO which led to the eradication of child labor and improved working conditions that established the 40-hour work week and improved job security and benefits.
In the end, each of these protests resulted in a change in the law and in unquestionably improved conditions. National security was in no way compromised.
The 1950s and 60s brought about the Civil Rights Movement led by Marin Luther King, Jr. and gave us his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”. It was written in his prison cell on April 12, 1963 in response to a letter sent to the New York Times by an Alabama Minister. It condemned Dr. King and the members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) for engaging in Civil Disobedience, calling their action “untimely and unwise” and accusing them of being “outsiders coming in” to cause trouble. King’s stirring rebuttal helped fuel the movement.
The anti-Vietnam War movement initiated demonstrations across the nation and the two movements joined together to protest voter discrimination and to end the Vietnam War. CD has and continues today to be an effective way to confront repressive and discriminatory laws by the citizenry. You can find it in the actions Green Peace and the Anti Nuclear Movement, among others.
Most importantly for those of us living in Sonoma, part of CD’s history can been traced to the founding of American California on the Sonoma Town Plaza when the Bear Flag Revolt took place and the Bear Flag was first raised on June 14, 1846. On that day Col. John Fremont proclaimed our independence from Mexico and the California Republic was established as a free country. We remained the Republic of California, with Sonoma as it Capitol, until the United States Stars and Stripes was raised during the Mexican-American War. On June 9, 1850 the Republic of California became the 31st State, a non-slave state and a member in good standing of the United States of America.
As one who has participated in CD in California, Maine and throughout the South, and as I researched and reflected on the material for this article, I came to the conclusion that Edward Snowden has done nothing that should allow him to be considered part of the great historical record of those who have lived, been imprisoned and/or died for changing our world, our country, and our state through acts of Civil Disobedience. Stealing NSA materials and seeking asylum in Russia does not cut it.
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