Reflection on Citizen Four

My reaction to the documentary was very minimal. I have always been a well-informed individual when it comes to privacy so I obviously knew about Snowden and the NSA leaks as a small kid. The only thing that impressed me about the documentary was the personal aspect. I knew the leaks but it was interesting to see him portrayed as a regular person with a family and a girlfriend. I can’t say it was anything I didn’t expect since I knew what was going to happen before the documentary mentioned it.

Did it change my thoughts on Snowden? Sort of. I already look up to Snowden as some sort of privacy role model. His dedication to encryption and leaving a very small digital footprint is something I inspire to do one day. I already integrate most of his privacy practices into my life but I want to go even further (preferably without the leak part). If nothing else, I admire him more as a person since I was unaware of his personal life before watching the documentary.

Did it change my thoughts on the US government? Absolutely not. I already give very little trust to our government. They deserve to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity but it will never happen since no other country has the courage to punish them. Like I said, I already knew of the leaks and the crimes committed by the government. There is nothing new to change my thoughts. I would like to keep living my life as low profile as possible for no other reason than to spite the feds. Like 99% of people, I have nothing to hide but I can pretend I do just to waste their time.