The mission of
his
sense of justice
by
Simon Schroers
He knew that his planned project equaled playing with
fire. The unveilings(1) that Edward intended to publish on the next day would
change his life from scratch(2). All his professional, social and even family
achievements would get lost(3) for a significant period of time. Either he would
be hailed as a hero by American society or it would despise him – that
made him afraid. But he was sure he had to tell the whole world the truth about
the criminality of the US secret service. His employer, the National Security
Agency, had cheated millions of people, governments and companies around the
world by spying, hacking and saving their data.
“Edward, please start eating,” his girlfriend Lindsay whispered
at him while washing already(4) her dishes. He was completely lost in thought.
“Yes, I will.” That was all he could say at this moment because he could only
think about his future life after the revelations on the coming day. Lindsay
felt uncertainty(5) as well, but she tried to give the impression to Edward that
she was not able to see the full extent of the situation. Besides, how should
she know? He had not told anybody so far. Only the journalist Glen Greenwald
with whom Edward arranged(6) a meeting knew that he wanted to reveal confidential
information.
After eating sluggishly only half of his meal –
usually one serving was not enough for him, not by a long chalk – he went to
bed the earliest he had for a very long time. Nevertheless, he was not able to
sleep – his brain did not stop to think(7) about his new stage of life.
On the next day he went with Lindsay to Glen to give
an exclusive interview. He did not want to do it alone; she was his support.
While listening curiously to Edward’s information Glen knew that this would be
the scoop of his life. He was surprised how much secret information Edward
Snowden had found(8) over the last eight years while working for the CIA and NSA. Edward’s
initial excitement vanished with the beginning of the conversation completely(10).
He considered his unveilings as a duty – he could not stop talking about the
crimes the secret service had committed for many years. But he did not reveal
it because of a hatred towards the United States of America but because he
believed in his country so he had to tell the truth. Patriotism underpinned his
belief, the oath on its constitution assured it. Therefore, his conscience was clear.
After the publication of Glen’s article this feeling
towards his country got more and more confused. Suddenly Edward was the utmost(11) criminal of America. For the government he was no longer a real citizen of
their country. Being considered as a mass murderer made him sad. Edward had
believed in this government at the assumption of office, but nothing had
changed. He had seen no other option than revealing that millions of private communications
had been saved illegally in a project named PRISM.
All at once he did not feel safe anymore in his
country although he got great support from some parts of the society. He looked
at Lindsay and said, “I cannot stay here. I am so sorry but I have to leave.”
“I will follow you wherever you go, even Russia!” she answered. So it happened
that they sought and granted(12) asylum in Moscow.
The American government and secret service had to take
responsibility globally for their machinations. Many international friendships
got harmed and the confidence in the United States got deservedly damaged – all
thanks to the courage of one man: Edward Snowden.
Teacher corrections:
1. revelations
2. for good
3. be lost
4. already washing
5. the (sense of) uncertainty
6. had arranged
7. wouldn't stop thinking
8. gathered
9. completely vanished
10. actions
11. worst
12. were granted
Comment
It was Simon's own idea to write this
account of factual events in a fictional style. He's used lots of dialogue to
add life to the piece, which is harder than it might seem. He also manages to
get across the inner thoughts and motivations of the three characters. Finally, the piece manages to convey Simon's views on the controversy in a non-confrontational, human way. Really great stuff.
G
