It has been, from all appearances, a thrilling evening for many students at the live video appearance of Edward Snowden at Upper Canada College tonight (February 2, 2015). The event was organized by 18-year-old Conor Healy who sent an invitation to Snowden. A snippet of Mr. Snowden’s reception as seen on CP24 was reminiscent of a rock star’s welcome. A sampling of the linked video exchanges between he and the students focused largely on a world view which Snowden typically expresses. It features a kind of foreboding about what government collection of meta data (information) may mean for personal freedom. This outlook is a modified Orwellian vision which is often accompanied by Mr. Snowden’s explanations of himself: “It all depends what you can live with,” he said at one point tonight by way of justifying his decision to flee the U.S. with his secrets. The nature of the perceived issue — the government spying on people for the purposes of controlling them — leaves lots of room for the imagination. Upper Canada College
