Tit-for-tat or can we grow up already?

While paying my daily Reddit dues on a casual evening, I was prompted with an interesting consideration about the current state of affairs regarding the Snowden incident and the United States’ approach to the whole NSA debacle. Though the NSA leaks have received an almost unhealthy amount of attention (with appropriate reason), from a neo-realist’s point of view such government activity is not only normal but to be completely expected. Let me explain, albeit from my cynical point of view.

One of the more interesting facets of the incidents that have unravelled this summer is Obama’s changed standpoint on whistleblowers and their treatment. Lurking in the shadows, the Obama administration went as far as silently removing the “promise to protect whistleblowers” blurb on his campaign website along with a few other pledges that don’t synchronize with current policies.

Not only has this done unrepairable damage to the democratic party and severely undermined their underlying ideologies, it also serves as an unequivocal lesson for the oh-so-blind public. For decades the democrats have sought to demonize the republican party and swoon forward-minded thinkers with promises of social justice and equality (gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and etc.). All that these hot issues of debate have done is create a smokescreen to leave the public bickering over senseless policies while in reality both parties uphold the exact same ominous agenda.

In other words, this is the illusion of choice. Both parties are still fundamentally perpetuating imperialist and colonialist tendencies at the core and we’re living in a far more “realist” system than we know or care to admit. The barring and forced landing of Bolivian president Evo Morales’ plane in Europe due to mere suspicions that Snowden was on board is an acute example that vestiges of colonialism still bludgeon international relations.

It’s hard to believe in over-arching conspiracy theories without going of on a loony tangent. I don’t believe we’re heading towards some V for Vendetta-esque security state of perched mass surveillance where the government essentially penalizes and persecutes everyone. I like to believe that globalization, egalitarianism and laissez-faire ideologies melt borders and hold greater weight in our political spectrum than protectionist and nationalist policies. However the disappointing truth is that the framework for international relations is still fundamentally about power, which is synonymous with national security. Without a clear sense of accountability and transparency between states, operations such as the NSA’s PRISM and other clandestine projects are an inevitable byproduct.

All this only exacerbates the problem of systemic anarchy that has choked political scientists since the early days of the study. Snowden’s greatest revelation through the leaks is that the scale is tilted towards the realists – power does not come from the people as the liberals would blindly love to accept. To fundamentally evolve towards conditions that allow for tangible socioeconomic and political change as a race, states need to shake off their habitual penchant for power and take a leap of faith.

We need to fundamentally question the power blindly given to faceless men in the name of security and inject an ounce of humanity into our tidings. Germany, after all it’s years of atonement, may just be the first country to set the standard for progressive constitutional development. Spearheaded by Chancellor Merkel and with plenty of pressure from the German public, Germany has ended an information sharing pact with the U.S. and England.

In 2016, voters in the U.S. will be at war over the same endemic issues as always, and once again they will choose between a lesser of two evils. No matter the result, change is not going to come from the government – but from the people.

WRITTEN BY SABHYA SACHDEVA