If the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea would live in our actual world he would find a real treasure chest of paradoxies, especially in our modern politics and their relation towards the societies they represent.
The recent case of whistleblower Edward Snowden, a former staff member of the US-American National Security Agency (NSA), is showing the public quite plainly that transparency, responsibility and last but not least conscience forms in combination a menace - surprisingly for those ones officially defending such values in that what we use to call the free world.
While Bradley Manning delivered U.S. Army confidential documents to Wikileaks who exposed the delicate material via the internet to a broader public (the content of those documents contains amongst other the modus operandi during the Afghanistan invasion which wasn't going accord with common war ethics especially the United States were trying to sell as kept up high) Snowden unveiled the NSA practices of digital surveillance. The PRISM program is collecting digital data not only from U.S. citizens using the major internet platforms but also as it looks sensitive data from citizens around the globe, from e-mail-correspondence to log-in passwords. Meanwhile the netizen community is joking about the PRISM program as 'newest and biggest growing social media site'.
We the people ..
Referring to the headline I've chosen both whistleblowers can be seen as upright citizens exposing impure practices to those who it should concern in their own interest: the people. Not only the United States, all modern democracies are built on the vote of the people who are electing their representants in constant intervals. Manning's and Snowden's behavior can be seen as a republican act of civil courage in the context of exposing intransparency: they were providing a secretly kept policy becoming what it originally should be - a res publica, a public issue. But instead being appreciated for their courage by the officials in a kind of way like "thanks for exposing our mistakes and weaknesses, we will work on it from now on" both are facing possible life time imprisonment being accused of high treasure. Xeno of Elea would scratch his head studying these cases ..
From Washington to Damascus
But where are the parallels to those people in Syria being labelled as 'Real FSA'? Just like the U.S. whistleblowers they are so seen also upright citizens. (I strictly use the term in a non-demagogic context being aware of the negative intention especially leftist anarchists putted in by using the term in the 80's of the last century trying to expose a law-and-order character of the addressed ones.) First of all an explanation is required who exactly the protagonists of the Real FSA are: during the uprising against dictator Assad soldiers and commanders of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) began to defect and formed in summer 2011 the 'gesh-issouri-al-hor', the Free Syrian Army. Goal of the defectors was to protect civilians from random attacks of Assad loyal forces (which were at that time besides the SAA particularly the redoubtable shabeeha (ghosts), plain-clothed bullies infamous for their brutality) and to topple the Baath regime. Straight in the beginning of the FSA foundation their officials made very precise clear that they are not following sectarian goals - a reproach which was and is still valid for the ruling elites under the command of Bashar al-Assad.
Those former SAA soldiers and commanders have with Manning and Snowden in common that they turned against the the system they served for simply listening to their conscience. That counts also for all those voluntarily joining the FSA with the purpose to protect the lives of civilians, of their homes, their families. Conscience isn't a calculable corrective. To realize that the political system is irrelevant, be it the constitutional democracy of the United States or the oppressing dictatorship in Syria.
Edward Snowden is cited that his biggest fear is not the eventual prison term he might face. It is that his disclosure could become forgotten by the public, that the majority of the people becomes apathetically. Similar fears the core of the Real FSA likewise has: becoming forgotten, perishing in the flood of pro-revolution battallions fighting for their own goals, mainly radicalized Islamists seeing in Syria an ideal playground for their caliphate experiments. And they are still better equipped. Another paradox Xeno of Elea would shake his head about. The Real FSA and the moderate rebels are denied delivery of adequate weapons for protection measures because those sympathizing with them fear those weapons might land in the wrong hands - salafist jihadis or worse. But the religious radicals are receiving their equipment from other sources while the moderate freedom fighters are still waiting for useful armament.
'loyalty stands above conscience'
Reviewing the history of the Assad tyranny over the last five decades besides the classical oppression tools one speciality to grant the illegal achieved power is appearing very clearly: the coercion of loyalty. The system decided who was on the gainng side and who belonged to the worthless mass. A term like 'conscience' never had a place in that system. Conscience was a luxury only the brave ones were able to afford. Many Syrians decided since March 2011 to regain their conscience and to take their fate into their own hands hoping that those nations keeping such values - apparently - high would support them in their struggle. The higher the disappointment and the embarrassment is in the meantime facing the hesitation of those countries to help. And the regime in Damascus might grin brightly pointing at the double-standards the democracies are exposing in cases such as Manning and Snowden.
Given this complexity and the circumstance that states which are defining themselves as servants of their people de facto are acting in the opposite manner and the more and more growing gaps between nations and their societies Xeno of Elea might not be afraid of getting jobless as philosopher and specialist in paradoxies.
No comments:
Post a Comment