Being a somewhat of a geek, but also politically interested business graduate I tend to try to see things from an as objective perspective as possible from all these three perspectives. But now I think I have found my match of a question.

The recent NSA scandal and the absolute surveillance of anyone walking on this planet beg for someone to answer a few questions. I’m not the one, but I still want to put my thoughts out there.

Technology is first and foremost there to help humanity in developing solutions to simplify our life, stimulate us and help us to connect and to communicate. Not to forget that it is also there to protect and heal. This is of course a very blue-eyed view of it all, but in essence I do argue that it is what it fundamentally is for. But as with everything, if you can do bad things with it some people will find a way to do so. This is how it has always been and always will be. Hence a reason why I do not believe in the concept of world peace as humans are greedy hoarders by nature, nothing more than an advanced form of a flock animal (a predator like the lion, wolf etc.). We do however posses empathy and a feeling of guilt which most of the time keeps people in check. But when greed takes over, nothing will stop us from justifying even the most absurd actions. The NSA scandal is one example of greed that has turned into a mind-set of fear, paranoia and an over all conviction that anything can be justified with the argument of safety.

Breaking the problem down into more manageable pieces we should look at this from a broader perspective, this to see where the grey zone between technology, politics and business interest merge into a toxic soup.

I do honestly not believe that some mean government super-secret-evil-group that has the goal to be the big brother of all mankind infiltrated Apple, Facebook, Google or Verizon. These companies are businesses with the main goal to create value for their shareholders, and a scandal like this will definitely not do that. But it raises the question that has been asked so many times before; how much information should corporations be allowed to store about their users? On one side this information can be used to create products and services better tailored to the actual users, but on the other it can also be the source of more stupid product. It also opens up the possibility of an information database that can be used to infringe on our privacy, and this is exactly what has happened.

From a political perspective I do see that politicians have the responsibility to protect and serve their citizens. But in all honestly, we all know that this has not been the case for a very long time, especially not in the United States. If it cost hundreds of millions to even have a chance to be elected president, then it is obvious that no one ever will reach that office without owing one or more favours to businessmen, other politicians, lobbyists and god know whom or what. And the built in greed in all humans will guarantee that once you have sat foot in that office, you’ll do anything in your power to stay there. The same goes for the ones that paid for you to be there. And if you diverge from that either side will make sure you step back in line again. Hence we have a status quo that won’t be solved before laws are passed that stop the political game to be about money. But for that to happen, people in general need to be more critical and willing to speak up.

So to summarize the above: In my view the NSA scandal is a result of a mixture of many issues in the modern world. The NSA is not the only one in fault here, but instead it is the president of the Unites Stated, the Congress, the House of representatives, the businesses, the lobbyists and the citizens that all bear a piece of the responsibility of us ending up in this mess. So the next time you as an American or like me an European vote, buy products or get paranoid as yourself the following question: What is the price I am willing to pay from a long term perspective to satisfy my needs?

The fright of terrorism that one might say is one of the core reasons for the NSA problem is really a stupid thing to be afraid of. No matter how much you peak into people’s homes, no matter how much you try to control everything and everyone, the people that want to do evil will find away. Instead we should focus on the root causes for why these people have become extreme. So Mr. Government please leave my emails, phone-calls and opinions alone. It might be, that the people that are angry are angry because you put your nose into their business in the first place.

Now I’ll go and have me a cup of coffee, and then I’ll try to find some cool app that will keep me occupied on my commute to work.

// The General