The US National Security Agency (NSA) has created a list of hundreds of “social justice” terms for employees, according to a leaked document acquired by the Daily Wire. The 34-page document, which was created last year but only unveiled recently, includes references to “white privilege” and “Critical Race Theory.” The NSA describes it as a “starting point for engaging in open and honest conversation” and a “tool meant to build a shared language of understanding.” This dictionary contains a long list of terms related to racism, sexuality, and other politically and socially charged topics, such as “white supremacy,” “queer theory” and “racial equity.”
The Daily Wire accused the NSA of endorsing “blatantly left-wing views on race and sex,” noting that the glossary favorably cites the work of controversial academics popular on the political left. Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, said he confirmed the authenticity of the diversity dictionary and later urged the NSA to “get back to preventing terrorist attacks and countering China.” He described the document as “shocking,” emphasizing that “This is the NSA, the National Security Agency, one of the most powerful agencies in the world.”
The NSA came under fire in 2013 after whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked a massive trove of files detailing the agency’s illicit surveillance of American citizens. The revelations were a bombshell at the time, as then-NSA Director James Clapper had falsely insisted to lawmakers that his agency was not “wittingly” collecting “any type of data at all on millions of Americans.” Snowden, charged in the US under the World War I-era Espionage Act, resides in Russia, where he was granted asylum and later citizenship; his American passport has been revoked by US authorities.
This initiative by the NSA, seems to have been met with criticism from the government and the general public. There are people who believe that the NSA should focus on its primary goal of maintaining national security, arguing that internal matters such as being woke or maintaining diversity dictionaries is not within its responsibility. In a world where data privacy is of the utmost importance, especially after the scandal with Snowden, it is concerning for some to think that the agency has enough time and resources to create a 34-page glossary of terms related to issues that are highly political and divided. There are also those, however, that believe that the NSA, as a government agency, should also be woke and maintain diversity in order to properly represent the diverse population it serves. Nevertheless, this internal initiative is sure to continue sparking debates in the future.
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