Espionage

            What is espionage? Webster defines espionage as the practice or employment of spies; the practice of watching the words and conduct of others, to make discoveries, as spies or secret emissaries or secret watching. Espionage is one of the practices of today that originated before Caesar and the Roman Empire and has survived through every known government, even during the Middle Ages and fiefdom. When one thinks of espionage they think of none other than James Bond, also known as 007, a man who is capricious with women, flashy in everything he does, and distinctive in every aspect of his life yet he is the farthest thing from a real spy. A real "spy" tries to assimilate into the culture of his surroundings so much that the spy cannot be discerned from the normal population. A normal spy would never have a special type of drink that was extremely different than those surrounding them, like Bond's martini "shaken not stirred" such an unusual drink yet he orders the drink in every place he goes, creates a pattern, something that spies try to avoid at all costs, because once they get discovered they have no shot of getting back to their headquarters once again unlike Bond. Yet there are other types of espionage that deal with situations more intimate than government politics, such as voyeurism, which happens to be illegal, the "nanny cam." Espionage has had a tremendous effect on American history as well as American culture, from the Revolutionary War, to home security, to the New CIA/NSA. .
             Espionage has been in existence for a very, very long time it can first be seen in the Bible's Book of Joshua, , when the Israelites were about to conquer Palestine, their leader Joshua sent two spies out "secretly with orders to reconnoiter the country."(Bible) This happened earlier than 1200 BC. Also during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance information was so closely related to diplomacy that even Ambassadors were considered to be little more that petty spies.