George Orwell, famed author of dystopian literature classic 1984, famously stated that in a time of universal deceit, a person who dares to tell the truth would be considered a revolutionary. From this quote, it is possible to see the reality of Orwell's vision come alive with the case of Edward Snowden, former CIA employee who leaked confidential information to the press about American and British surveillance operations. Snowden, age 30, has been running around the world in search of amnesty and asylum for his actions after having been charged with espionage and theft of government property.

Constitutional Rights, Or Lack Thereof

American constitutional rights have been lifted many times in the nation's history. During the Civil War, the rights to trial by jury and habeus corpus were suspended by President Abraham Lincoln in order to ensure that the Union Army could root out Confederate spies and informants. During World War Two, American citizens with a Japanese ancestry were denied the rights to a trial and the right to face their accusers when they were detained in internment camps, as they were believed to be potential enemies of the state. As such, Snowden's uncovering of invasion of privacy acts by the national government is not new, but is nevertheless quite damning of American policies.

The Background

Snowden was employed first in the CIA and then in the NSA as a contractor for half a decade. He was stationed in Switzerland and Japan, having risen in the ranks to become a qualified computer technician and counter-hacker working in information technology. He was thought to have been on a solid career track until 2013, when he left for Hong Kong from Hawaii in May of 2013, contacting the press in order to dictate the details of the constitutional rights violations.

The Details

Snowden's accusations of American surveillance operations include the NSA directly accessing and opening email files using the PRISM and Boundless Informant operating systems. Snowden claims that the NSA can do this in real time, amounting to an invasion of privacy that could be going on at any time at any computer. Furthermore, this information is captured and stored on Tempora fiber-optic systems that allow tapping into any closed-circuit that would otherwise be private. This information was published on WikiLeaks.com, a major source of leaked information on government operations.

The Reaction

Snowden fled the country in June, leaking the details to the press on June 6th. His first stop on the road to asylum was Hong Kong, where the Chinese government briefly contemplated providing protection before refusing and agreeing to comply with potential extradition. Snowden then traveled to Moscow, were president Vladimir Putin offered the American amnesty on the grounds that he no longer air American dirty laundry. Snowden is thought to be at the Russian secret service headquarters currently. He asked the president of Ecuador and Venezuela for amnesty and asylum; the Ecuadorian president has since been deluged with requests from citizens (American, Ecuadorian, and international) to grant him asylum and protect him against American prosecution.

About the author:

Jennifer Caughey is a freelance content writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. Jennifer truly believes that Edward Snowden deserved to be granted asylum because he was only protecting the constitutional rights of citizens. She has most recently been writing guest posts for Immigration Lawyer Network.