Are you willing to listen?

By Will Brown

This morning, the New York Times delved deep into Edward Snowden’s past.

The article questioned whether communication between the CIA and the National Security Administration four years ago would have prevented the former contractor from accessing information beyond his security clearance.

The Times’ report also provided a link to a June commentary written by one of Snowden’s friends that provides insight to what type of man he is, and the internal questions that led him exposing programs within the American government that can track cell phone calls and collect material including the content of emails, file transfers and internet search histories.

One’s opinion on Snowden and his actions are immaterial. My question is how many of us would follow our conscience? More specifically, how many of us would follow our conscience if we stood to lose our livelihood, have our character assassinated or much worse?

I’m just a journalist who covers sports for a living. Nonetheless, I learned about one Voltaire quote the hard way while being a little too honest in South Texas. “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”

At the time, being blunt about the people and events I covered is what I thought was right. Certain segments of the community disagreed, and got editors at the paper to believe the same thing.

In the six months since leaving Texas, I have come to realize my actions pale in comparison to two heroes. One, Snowden, received recognition nearly immediately after listening to his conscience. The second went unrecognized for nearly 35 years, despite the fact their impact on their community was immeasurable.

The former’s actions are well documented. The latter person, S.E. Sanders, was among a quartet who filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Sarasota in 1979 to force the city into single-member voting districts for its city commission. That lawsuit, filed “because I did not think it was fair that three neighbors represented the entire city,” led to changes in local laws, and the city’s first African-American city commissioner in 1985.

S.E. Sanders is my mother.

She and Snowden are the living embodiment of another Voltaire quote: < color: #181818;">“it is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”

In mom’s case, the authorities appealed the verdict, and attempted to delay the implementation of single-member districts. Those efforts failed, and there has been minority representation at the municipal level in Sarasota for the last 28 years.

Last week she was recognized with the Community Service Award by the Sarasota County branch of the NAACP for her role in the lawsuit. It’s an honor given “to the person or group that has demonstrated by their volunteer work in this community a commitment to improving the quality of life for all humanity without regard to race, creed or color.”

The local newspaper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune wrote a column about her, calling her one of the city’s heroes. For four African-Americans to file suit against a municipality in the 70s — and winning — was unprecedented, just as a NSA contractor sharing state surveillance secrets and earning asylum in Russia.

“I think Ed already may be a symbol of something much bigger than himself,” wrote Snowden’s friend Mavanee Anderson in the June essay referenced in today’s Times. “As a friend, I admire his courage — this strength of purpose is a very real aspect to his character — but I fear for him. Quite selfishly, I would have told Ed that he didn't have to take this burden on himself.”

Interestingly, Snowden also received an award this month. The Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence, a group the Washington Post describes as an organization of former intelligence officers, honored the 29-year-old for his truth-telling.

It took conviction for Snowden to expose a program he thought pilfered the privacy of Americans. Whether you agree with his methods, or not, none of us should down that Snowden listened to his conscience. As a result he lives in Russia, in secrecy, away from his family and the woman he loves.

Voltaire was a French philosopher and author who has been dead for 235 years. But one more quote of his sums up the difference between those who listen to their conscience — like my mom, Ed Snowden as well as countless others — and the rest of us. “Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.”

Which path are you willing to take?

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb

How do you handle the heat?

This has been the hottest week of the year in Northeast Florida.

It’s one thing for forecasters to say that. It’s another to walk outside and feel the heat rain down on you. As comfortable as the air conditioning was Wednesday, leaving it to volunteer downtown at the City Rescue Mission is a very good way to insert some humility with the humidity.

Initially, I was uncomfortable in my role of wiping down tables when people were finished eating. The room had a capacity of 112. In the 90 minutes we were there, there were not too many empty seats.

As wave after wave trudged in to gobble up a meal of tuna casserole, green beans, carrots and bread I started to observe, as well as feel guilty for my initial reticence. Frequently, Jacksonville’s less fortunate would walk right in front of me as they collected their salad and peaches at the other end of the room.

Standing against the glass waiting for people to finish their meal gave me time to think. 

The most sobering moment was watching a young black man, who looked to be in his 20s, walk in, pump his hands under the hand sanitizer and continue on to receive his food. The fact he didn’t break stride when cleaning his hands is what stuck with me. That one motion said that he has visited City Rescue Mission so many times that he knew exactly where it was without looking and without wasting movement.

That one motion humbled me. I didn’t know his name, nor did I ever strike up a conversation with him. But, from then on when I cleaned a table, I made a habit of saying hello, asking people how their day was and treating them like the people they are.

Of course there were some quizzical looks, like when I couldn’t help by observe the gentleman who walked into the City Rescue Mission in a Boston Bruins hat, T-shirt and black jacket. Rather than judging, my heart hoped that he at least came from a cool place on an afternoon where temperatures were in the mid-90s with an ever-increasing humidity.

Every day, the City Rescue Mission feeds about 400 people. Of the people who ate meals Wednesday about 75 percent of them were men. Considering 40 percent of homeless men have served in the military and Jacksonville is a military community, it’s fair to assume that many of the men served by the City Rescue Mission are veterans. 

Though the number of homeless people is dwindling, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in the richest country in the world who do not have a consistent place to live. Jacksonville has approximately 3,000 homeless people. More than 630,000 people in America are homeless. That is taking every resident of Tampa and Orlando and leaving them on the street—along with 35,000 others.

In a perfect world, I would never have told anyone about my trip to the City Rescue Mission. To me, it cheapens an act of kindness by broadcasting it. But, Wednesday’s volunteerism convicted me. I have had ample opportunities and blessings in my life, even in this time of transition.

Homeless statistics can be cold and detached things. Seeing the warmth of the people who embody those numbers is a sobering cup of ice water on a sweltering summer afternoon.

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb