What I think about when I think about Edward Snowden

Typical examinations of Edward Snowden in the media often ask if he is a patriot. 

Or they’ve suggested he’s a traitor. 

But not so fast. 

His decision to expose the US government’s secret data collection program was complicated.

And besides I don't think about any of that when I think about Edward Snowden.

Instead, I think about his voice. His soothing, methodical, calm voice, and a manner like a kindly grandfather who will entertain any question you have.

I've been listening to recordings of his interviews for years. Anytime I need soothing. Anytime I want to listen as someone calmly, patiently describes arcane software along with shadowy meetings with journalists in Hong Kong, where he first fled. It’s my own kind of mindfulness. It’s Snowden time for me, anytime I need to be reassured that whatever cockamamie decision I’ve made, all will turn out right, if I remain steadfast in my convictions. Even if I wind up living in exile in Russia.

There’s something about how he fluently talks about the intricacies of the secret data collection program he exposed, which targeted millions of Americans. Or the day-to-day work he did at the NSA and the CIA. Something about it seems mysterious – but arm-chair mysterious.

There are many videos to choose from since he’s been interviewed by Brian Williams, Gayle King, Katie Couric and others, and his main contact with the outside world since going into exile in Moscow has come via Skype interviews and podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, Joe Rogan had him on once. Joe posted 3 hours’ worth of conversation. Who would listen to it all? Me, for one. Not in a single sitting, of course. But slowly over the course of a week or two. Anytime I needed to be in the car, I cued it up on my phone. Joe gives him as much time as he needs to explain exactly how our cell phones work to track us and how he went basically from high school to the CIA.

My obsession with Snowden would seem to stem from working on and off in journalism for nearly two decades. And sure the news element is captivating. Occupational hazard: I track his responses to certain questions from interview to interview. For example, when Katie Couric asked him if releasing the documents he took from the NSA was illegal, he replied, “It’s sketchy.” In later interviews, he has declined to answer that question. Hmmm….

But my obsession is really about something else. I’m mesmerized by what I call his “narrative,” which boils down to this: he had no choice, he had to turn over what he knew, and he had to flee once he had done so. Plus: he has no regrets.

If he has any doubts, they remain deep inside. What remains on the outside is this mesmerizing narrative, delivered with his mesmerizing voice, with an equally mesmerizing cadence. He speaks in full white-paper paragraphs. And he pauses for a long time, if the question is particularly probing.

Sometimes I can almost imagine that he is knitting this narrative as he speaks, or at the very least practicing/vetting some lines. Either way, I am intrigued by his journey from NSA insider to someone who, as he puts it, now works for the people.

It is a killer line. He has a way with words. At one point shortly after the 2016 election, he says he expects Trump “will break some furniture.” Interesting analogy.

When Katie Couric interviews him, she's done her homework and asks tough questions. But he answers every one smoothly, even if his answer is ridiculous or evades the question. Nothing flaps him – he remains unflappable even if the interviewer essentially calls his bluff, as Couric did repeatedly. Indeed, I noticed he rarely even says “like” or “um.”

I don’t begrudge him for developing a tidy story about his life – one which hinges on that conviction that he now works for the people. Like I said, it’s a brilliant line and I certainly know what he means. But when he pronounces it, it sounds like movie dialogue. I get the chills – and this is one of the reasons that when I need soothing, I turn to Snowden.

It shamelessly trivializes his plight as a potentially perennial outcast into some kind of relaxation ritual, not unlike chocolate or calming music on sleepless nights.

But it feels so of the moment in this rotten cyberworld that many of us prefer to real life.

-30-