George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four portrayed a fictional character named ‘Big Brother,’ whom acted as the enigmatic dictator in a totalitarian state (Orwell, 1949). In the society where every citizen is under the surveillance of ‘Big Brother,’ most conform to the rulings and orders of the authorities out of fear, with the exception of a few.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a former United States military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation, instigated a national political controversy when he released the top-secret Pentagon Papers to The New York Times (Bean, 2014). These papers exposed presidential deception about the Vietnam War by revealing that the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scale (Bean, 2014). In 2010, Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, a U.S. army soldier leaked the largest set of classified documents in history to WikiLeaks (Bean, 2014). The information consisted of substantial archive of confidential government documents and the U.S. government has revealed that it was in the hands of Osama bin Laden (Bean, 2014). Even with the amount of information disclosed by these so called ‘whistleblowers,’ no official investigations into alleged war crimes or government misconduct has been issued (Bean, 2014). Both Ellsberg and Manning however, were charged with the Espionage Act of delivering factual information to American citizens. Ellsberg claimed, “The public is lied to every day by the president, by his spokespeople, by his officers. If you can't handle the thought that the president lies to the public for all kinds of reasons, you couldn't stay at that government at that level, where you're made aware of it, a week.” (Kreisler, personal communication, 1998). The privacy and civil rights abuses along with fear of...
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...Looms Over the Patriot Act”, The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/politics/20patriot.html?ref=usapatriotact&_r=1&
TedTalks. (March 18, 2014). Edward Snowden: Here's how we take back the Internet [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVwAodrjZMY
TedTalks. (March 20, 2014). Richard Ledgett: The NSA responds to Edward Snowden's TED Talk [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLNXIXingyU
Pew Research Center. (June 17, 2013). “Public Split over Impact of NSA Leak, But Most Want Snowden Prosecuted [Data Set]. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/6-17-13%20NSA%20release.pdf
Pew Research Center. (January 20, 2014). “Obama’s NSA Speech has Little Impact on Skeptical Public” [Data Set]. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/1-20-14%20NSA%20Release.pdf
James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Big Brother is “A person or organization exercising total control over people's lives.” Not only is Big Brother featured in George Orwell's novel 1984, the concept of a “Big Brother” is also seen everywhere around us in our everyday lives. Our modern-day form of Big Brother is our own government and the way it keeps surveillance over us. The way the United States and many other modern-day countries govern these days, with all their new advanced technology, we citizens are never truly alone. Our every move is constantly being watched. The difference between our modern-day Big Brother and the Big Brother in the novel 1984 is that our monitors claim to want to keep us safe, not to brainwash us to attain total power and control.
5 Dec. 2013. Gorman, Siobhan, and Jennifer Valentino-Deveries. New Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach. " The Wall Street Journal. N.p., 20 Aug. 2013.
Keck, Zachary. "Yes, Edward Snowden Is a Traitor." The Diplomat. N.p., 21 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
“For every 32 people in London, there is one surveillance camera.” Today one uses technology numerous times throughout the duration of the day without even realizing it. In an Orwellian type society, technology such as surveillance cameras and television screens dictate the majority of people’s life. Modern day surveillance cameras are typically put in by local governments to watch for crime. If Big Brother, the political icon in George Orwell’s 1984, truly does watch over the citizens, there are some precautions the citizens could take to prevent this. Today’s society shows many of the key characteristics that an Orwellian society shows.
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
...coded: Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations explained | World news | theguardian.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded#section/1
During his presentation, Ethan asked the class whether we would be comfortable with the government watching all of our internet usage. When the class responded with a resounding “no”, Ethan explained that Snowden was attempting to make the government’s spying visible, as the public needed to know. This made his presentation effective as it made Snowden’s actions feel personal, consequently appealing to pathos.
The American government used to be able to keep the people in happy ignorance to the fact that they watch every move they make. After certain revelations of people like Edward Snowden, the public knows the extent of the government spying. On June 5, 2013 Edward Snowden leaked documents of the NSA to the Guardian (The Guardian 2). The whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the world how the American government collects information like cell phone metadata, Internet history, emails, location from phones, and more. President Obama labeled the man a traitor because he showed the world the illegal acts the NSA performs on US citizens (Service of Snowden 1). The government breached the people’s security, and now the people are afraid because everyone is aware of how the US disapproves of people who do not agree with their programs. Obama said that these programs find information about terrorists living in the US, but he has lit...
In the dystopian novel, “1984’, George Orwell portrays many aspects of the lack of privacy and human rights that ruin the lives of people through “Big Brother”, a very strong and controlling political figure in the novel. He is the dictator of Oceania and has the lives of everyone who lives in Oceania in the palm of his hand. The ways of this dictator are inhumane and questionable. Constantly exposing corrupt propaganda to continue brainwashing their citizens, constantly monitoring each individual to ensure they are not committing to thought crime or to any act of rebellion , and depriving the people of the ability to enjoy pleasure. If any were to rebel against the Party, hell would be brought upon them.
To be more specific, the most Americans, 56 percent, believe that the federal courts have failed to establish an adequate framework on how much personal information the government is allowed to collect using the Internet and telephone lines (Epstein). In turn, 70 percent of respondents are convinced that the governmental organizations use the gathered information not only for fighting with and preventing terrorism but also for controlling own citizens. The 50 percent of the US citizens support the overall monitoring program, along with the National Security Agency. More than half of Americans expressed the opinion that the actions of Edward Snowden was a crime and should be brought to justice. However, there is 38 percent of respondents who believe in the innocence of Snowden saying that a criminal case against him should not be
Security is a vital asset for the advancement and stability of any country. Today exists a world where protection and security are getting progressively more necessary for the strength of a nation. It is believed the advances of technology allow boundless possibilities of protection, which has kept the United States safe for several years. With the media becoming more prevalent in today’s society, we as citizens know much more about threats to our nation than we had in previous years. A prime example of this knowledge is fairly due to a man named Edward Snowden. Snowden is a former National Security Agency (NSA) member who made headlines
In May 2013, Edward Snowden, a consultant working for the National Security Agency, began copying documents on the agency’s domestic surveillance practices, which included spying on millions of American citizens. One program was called PRISM. Snowden supplied those secret documents to news outlets, and the following month the Guardian and the Washington Times released Snowden's published information on the NSA program that allowed real-time information collection on American citizens. A flood of information followed, and the US Government and the American people demanded to either hear more about it or have Snowden arrested.1
WikiLeaks has changed the way governments operate. Due to the release of all these high profile documents, both the American people and people in other countries expect their governments’ to show a higher level of transparency. In this age where anything can be posted online or released to the press, whistleblowing has become much more common. This can be attributed to the effect WikiLeaks had on both the American and world society.