No system of mass surveillance has existed in any society that we

Hear now the grave words of Edward Snowden, exile and whistleblower, who declared: “No system of mass surveillance has existed in any society that we know of to this point that has not been abused.” These words are a warning carved in stone, spoken by one who looked into the secret machinery of power and saw its corrosion. They remind us that when the eye of authority grows too vast, when it seeks to see all and know all, it does not bring peace but corruption. For the temptation to abuse is not the weakness of one man, but the sickness of all men when given unchecked power.

Snowden speaks of surveillance—the gaze of the state that follows every step, listens to every word, records every breath. To those in power, such a system may promise safety, order, control. Yet history shows another truth: the gaze that watches all will always be turned to silence dissent, to crush rebellion, to keep the rulers strong and the ruled obedient. That is why Snowden calls it a law of experience: not once in the scrolls of time has a watchtower been built that was not in the end misused.

Consider the story of the East German Stasi, the secret police who, in the twentieth century, wove a net of spies over their nation. Neighbors reported neighbors, families were torn apart by suspicion, and the faintest murmur of rebellion was recorded, cataloged, and punished. The state claimed it was to protect the people, but in truth, it was to bind them in fear. Here is the living proof of Snowden’s words: the system of surveillance, once built, became an instrument of abuse, gnawing at the soul of the entire society.

And in older times, the same story repeats. In Rome, the emperors relied on networks of informers, men who listened for whispers of conspiracy and carried tales to Caesar. What began as a tool for protection soon became a tool for tyranny. Innocent men fell to false accusations, rivals were eliminated, and fear became the currency of empire. Even in the great heart of civilization, the shadow of surveillance darkened freedom, until the empire itself began to rot from within.

Snowden’s wisdom is this: we must not be deceived by the promise of safety. A system of mass surveillance may be built in the name of protection, yet it will always be used for domination. The danger lies not only in the present rulers, but in the future ones, for once the machine is built, it waits to be seized. Power gathered but unchecked is power destined to abuse. This is not cynicism; it is the testimony of history.

The lesson for us is clear: guard your freedom with vigilance. Do not surrender your privacy for the false comfort of control. Demand transparency, demand limits, demand that those who hold the tools of surveillance be held accountable by the people. Remember that liberty, once lost, is rarely regained without struggle. If you do not resist the creeping eye, you will one day wake to find yourself living not in a community, but in a prison.

Therefore, O listener, let your actions be these: speak against unchecked surveillance, even when it is cloaked in promises of safety. Defend the dignity of your neighbor as you would your own, for if their freedom is violated, yours is already in peril. Teach the young that privacy is not secrecy, but the breath of freedom itself. And remember always the words of Snowden: no system of mass surveillance has ever escaped abuse—and none ever will.