The Cause (30 page)

It is my hope that this book stirs the fingers of controversy until they become the fist of ideas. Only with sober ideas can we hope for the flint to spark a long overdue debate. That debate is that all other debates have been but hairs on the head of the true problem. That problem is the wheels of America have begun to grind to a halt requiring ideas bigger than those our feeble politicians are willing to stomach. The danger of doing nothing exceeds the boldness of doing something. America has grown drunk on the fumes of debt and now the price of the hangover must be paid.

The rot within America does not take a keen eye to see. With government largess at epic levels, it begs the question, how long can it last? The United States government has increased spending by 67% per median household in thirteen years. What one must ask is why they had to do that? And more importantly can it be sustained?

Now, the government depends on artificial interest rates from the banking cartel of the Federal Reserve (not part of the government) for its spending. The economy sputters along at stagnating growth rates. Unfunded future liabilities should be seen as criminal and will be paid only by broken promises or a diminished dollar. All of this will work for some time, until it doesn’t. This novel has explored a world where an inflection point begins, a world where government overreaches for power and begins to make enemies with its own people. The characters in
The Cause
are unforgiving of the perpetual looting of the middleclass by an increasingly power-grabbing government and Federal Reserve who distort their livelihoods. We are quickly approaching a time when the vote will no longer matter.

I hope this novel has raised questions while at the same time has been entertaining. I certainly believe the NSA, CIA, and FBI
must be vigilant in their duties to protect America from asymmetric threats, but where is the line drawn between having one-hundred percent safety and a full and over-reactive police state? Is it when the NSA lies to Congress? Is it when the NSA breaks the law? What is the government’s penalty when caught? As with banks, moral hazard disappears when there are no repercussions for one’s actions, when losses can be socialized.

Events of yet another whistleblower in the NSA have caused quite a storm amongst pro-government zealots. One must ask the question: What did Edward Snowden give up that was so pertinent to U.S. security? Since his revelations uncovered a corporate/government conspiracy against its people (PRISM), and the information exposed the totalitarian creep of where America is heading, shouldn’t the citizen be made aware of this, especially since he/she funds the budget where money is then turned against liberty and breaks Constitutional rights? Recently, NBC did an interview with Edward Snowden. At the end of the interview, Brian Williams said, “A good number of Americans of course feel because of what they see as an act of treason, they sleep less soundly at night fearing this massive leak of secrets has endangered the country.” Is it possible to pack a statement indoctrinating paranoia more than that one? Perhaps NBC and Brian Williams need to read Benjamin Franklin’s quote from Chapter 27.

Many whistleblowers of the past have revealed similar embarrassments to the NSA (Echelon, for example). Why such a large reaction to this one? I hope
The Cause
explores the question: What is a traitor, and what is a patriot? The line to me is certainly blurred, as I hope it is in this book. I leave you with some quotes of Snowden’s naysayers and ask—what are they so afraid of?

“America is now a less safe place. The world is a less safe place because of what Mr. Snowden unilaterally did. He deserves to be prosecuted. I hope they find him in the hole that he’s hiding in in Hong Kong and
bring him home and try him.”
–Karl Rove

“I hope we follow Mr. Snowden to the ends of the earth to bring him to justice.”
–
Lindsey Graham

“What he did was an act of treason.”
–
Diane Feinstein

“He’s a traitor.”
–
John Boehner

“We do not see a tradeoff between security and liberty.”
–
Keith
Alexander – NSA Director

“The national security of the United States has been damaged as a result of those leaks. The safety of the American people and the safety of people who reside in allied nations have been put at risk as a result of these leaks.”
–Eric Holder

“And I hope that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
.” –
Mitch McConnell

“Now you’ve got this 29-year-old high-school dropout whistle-blower making foreign policy for our country, our security policy. It’s sad, Brian. We’ve made treason cool. Betraying your country is kind of a fashion statement. He wants to be the national security Kim Kardashian. He cites Bradley Manning as a hero. I mean, we need to get very, very serious about treason. And oh by the way, for treason—as in the case of Bradley Manning or Edwards Snowden—you bring back the death penalty.”
–
Fox and Friends

“I think on three scores—that is leaking the Patriot Act section 215
,
@#1@FISA 702, and the President’s classified cyber operations’ directive—on the strength of leaking that, yes, that would be a prosecutable offense. I think that he should be prosecuted.”
–
Nancy Pelosi

At Roundfire we publish great stories. We lean towards the spiritual and thought-provoking. But whether it’s literary or popular, a gentle tale or a pulsating thriller, the connecting theme in all Roundfire fiction titles is that once you pick them up you won’t want to put them down.