Julius Caesar and the NSA

In honor of Constitution Day, Learn Liberty is releasing another video I wrote/produced about the NSA Scandal. The video was shot and edited by Tafadzwa Chiriga. Professor Otteson gave his perspective on why this wasn't just the usual issue of a government overstepping its role in our daily lives.

As artists we have the ability to draw attention to these issues. I remember reading Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in elementary school. Yes, "Julius Caesar" in elementary school. I have no idea why kids were being assigned this dense and dry classic in class. I can say, thought, that this was before the era where ADD became the expected diagnosis for most kids.  Our schools demanded and expected kids to 'muscle' through difficult things in order to build intellectual stamina. I think "Julius Caesar" was one of those academic tests of wills: only the strong will survive. I found the play completely enthralling and confusing. On the one hand I realized that a child shouldn't be excited about this play. The language was very dusty and I had problems keeping track of all the characters. On the other hand, this was the first piece of writing I came across that strictly dealt with the rights of man in a society and to a republic. I couldn't get enough of it. I would re-read passages to myself as my classmates dozed.

When it came time for the teacher to give us our 'Roman' names I was knighted with 'Augustus.' The first true emperor of Rome and the quiet victor at the end of "Julius Caesar." This just fed my child-like ego. I would walk around imagining myself in a toga and being addressed as "Octavius Augustus.' This delusional grandiosity conflicted with my intellectual understanding of the freedoms of man. Yes, Augustus turned out to be an even bigger tyrant than Caesar. Yes, he's only a minor character in play. But it's good to be the emperor...even if it was just in my head. I was Augustus historically and theatrically. I was one of the few Shakespeare characters who returns in "Anthony and Cleopatra." I was less a personality and more like a slow, unstoppable, iceberg-like force for adversaries to wreck their ships against and die. Usually this spell would be broken by someone yelling at me or a ball hitting me in the head during PE class. I would return to my very un-emperor like existence.  Those Augustan flights of fancy made me realize how intoxicating power was; just imagining it could make me forget about all the civic lessons taught in school. If being a 'fake child emperor' could cause me to shuttle all of my beliefs, then I can't even fathom how magical and dangerous it would be to have a chance at being a real tyrant.

The arguments in "Julius Caesar" have stayed with me all these years later. During times of war and when individuals try to usurp their position I imagine the Senate debates on the Ides of March that would change the fate of mankind. I can see the scribes writing down the words of men for posterity so that their children would know where they stood. I can see thousands of years later in Philadelphia a similar debate taking place without the need of daggers and poison. The founding fathers of America debating for months in sweltering heat, setting down the course this nation would take. And I wonder if the great leaders of today (and they are out there) will ever have that same debate about our rights as our government veers closer and closer to the edge of tyrannical abuses and treasonous scandals.

Edward Snowden and the Importance of Whistleblowers

Some times debate is the most healthy thing to do before pursuing action. In the case of the NSA scandal there seemed to be a lot of outrage followed by a large yawning indifference to do anything. This was concerning to me for several reason. The constant surveillance combined with an increasingly militarized SWAT team police mentality and corporate prisons-for-profit has created the perfect storm to destroy civil rights. America is moving toward a system which monitors and keeps its citizens on edge all the time, merciless beats and punishes them with paramilitary Rambo cops, shackles them with enormous debt, and then earns profit on putting as many people away as possible for as long as conceivable thanks to mandatory sentences.

In a series of videos I finished for Learn Liberty this summer, we wanted to examine the NSA scandal and the broader implications for our society. Fortunately Yeshiva University Professor James Otteson came and served as the expert on these issues.

I wrote and produced these videos. The talented Tafadzwa Chiriga directed and edited, while Angela Cobb was featured in videos with the voice of Professor Otteson.

I'm hoping this is the first series in many that examines these many dangerous facets that have become a part of our normal life so that we can begin to change things for the better.

No Means No: The NSA Scandal, Edward Snowden, and Privacy

This summer has been a challenging one for liberty. From the rolling back of the Voting Rights Act for Black voters in the south, to the challenges and controversy of "Stop N' Frisk" it seems like there's a direct frontal assault on basic rights. But the most dangerous reveal has been from the Edward Snowden leaks about the NSA spying on potentially millions of people without warrant or probable cause.

 I wanted to say something so I approached Learn Liberty about putting out a bunch of videos this summer and fall that addresses how are liberties are under attack. I wrote and produced this first video with the very talented filmmaker Tafadzwa Chiriga who shot and edited these videos.  Yeshiva University professor Jim Otteson offers his advice and wisdom.