Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument. To give the full picture of Edward Snowden I must start before his role in the …show more content…
Others believe that he is a hero shedding light onto the secrets of the government and should be pardoned of all his charges. The arguments against Snowden are that he accepted a position of trust in his relation to the government (Stone 1). The job Snowden accepted had the condition that he was not to share the secrets he was working with (Stone 2). Edward Snowden did not have to accept the job if he did not want to agree to the conditions. The Supreme Court decided in the case of Snepp v. United States that the government can constitutionally require that employees agree to keep information relating to their classified activities private (Stone 3). Since the job Snowden had required that level of discretion then he broke an agreement with the company he worked for, and the government. The argument against Snowden is that not only did he break his agreement but that no one individual can decide what should and should not be shared with the citizens under the government (Stone 4). Many believe that Snowden was arrogant to think that he should decide what to do with the information he leaked. Geoffrey Stone from the Huffington Post believes that Snowden should have taken that information to a responsible member of Congress rather than take it upon himself to leak the information to the world (Stone 5). Those who agree with Geoffrey Stone would brand Snowden a criminal. The issue
Thesis Statement: Edward Snowden is a brave man who stood up for what he believed was morally right, exposed a broken system so that the world could benefit, and never once questioned his actions, despite what others have said.
Edward Snowden is a whistleblower from the 21st century. Snowden was a man who had outstanding IT skills and eventually landed a job at the NSA. He gained access to numerous files that showed the crimes the NSA was committing against its own people and against other countries as well. They were spying on people’s privacy and claimed that it was for the national security that would benefit all people. Snowden said that he could not let this
I will use this interview to explain why Snowden in his own words, whistleblowed. As this interview is a primary source, it allows Snowden to defend himself as well as help me form my thesis in which direction I may take it. This interview has refreshed my knowledge on the psyche of Snowden as well as logically think about how he viewed what the government was doing as well as his thoughts on our country. Library, CNN.
4). Edward Snowden to many is considered a whistle blower which is a person who informs people of organization or people doing illicit acts. One of the many results that Edwards Snowden acts caused some country’s to lose trust in the United States and are cautious of the United States spying on them.
Edward Snowden has gone on record and said that what he intended to do was to help the American public realize a wrong that had been done against them. What he failed to realize ahead of time were the awful consequences that would arise as a result of his
Therefore, Snowden’s true intentions are evident by his rash decision to trade significant information to other countries in return for his financial and personal safety. This is not surprising of “A grandiose narcissist,” who saw an opportunity for fame under the excuse of “serving his country” (Toobin 1). Moreover, any educated individual knows that “the entire mission of the agency is to intercept electronic communications” (Toobin 1). Therefore, Snowden can be characterized as a villain because he not only disrupted a legal process because of his ignorance but also sabotaged his own homeland. As can be seen, Snowden is, above all, a traitor; he deserves to be punished for his irresponsible, illegal, and rash action. If his idea was doing what is morally right, then he could have achieved it legally inside his own country, even if it took twice as long. That is what heroes do; they don’t inflict damage on their nation and simply run away from reality. If the
Privacy has endured throughout human history as the pillar upon which our authentic nature rests. Yet, in an age darkened by the looming shadow of terrorism, another force threatens to dominate the skyline and obscure the light of liberty behind promises of safety and security: government surveillance. As an employee of the NSA, Edward Snowden broke his vow of secrecy to inform the public of our government’s furtive surveillance acts, but does this render him traitorous? To answer this, we must first ask ourselves, traitorous to whom? When the very institution established to protect our fundamental liberties intrudes on our privacy from behind a veil of secrecy, should such informed individuals resign from judicious autonomy and
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the
The government, specifically the NSA and Obama Administration have been embarrassed by the leaks. Their aim is to bring Snowden back to the US for prosecution and have him be the next target under the Espionage Act for whistleblowers. Under the Obama Administration there have been double the amount of people prosecuted under the act than any other previous administration in history since the enacting. (Greenberg, 2014) It seems that Snowden has seen an unfairness and gross abuse of power and has felt compelled to bring these things to light for the public interest, and for the global stage. The need for change from such actions, the employment of fear to strip the public’s rights and privacies, and the use of mining centers to take all our data to whatever government end has all been shown. They (the government) is not particularly happy with the revealed truths behind their hidden programs. The fact they label it under the Espionage Act as to say Snowden has aided our enemies in breaching national security is, to the open minded and intelligent, a cowardly move, since our “enemies” already have known
Edward Snowden is considered by many to be a criminal, but there are others who firmly believe that Edward Snowden is a patriot, and rightfully so Edward Snowden is a hero to the American people and many abroad. The United States government has the responsibility to serve, protect and aid the American people, but sometimes the government and some of its classified documents every now and then get published and criticized. Edward Snowden had worked for multiple government agencies such as the CIA, NSA and prior to that an American contractor as a computer professional, and during his tenure at the NSA he had realized the grotesque and unprofessional ethics and violations of privacy against the American people, and so many innocent citizens
From the time children can understand what is right and what is wrong, it is instilled in them to do what is right, even if it will get them in trouble. Sadly, as those children grow up they learn the harsh reality that speaking truth to power can lead to prosecution. Such is the case of whistleblower Edward Snowden. A former contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA). Who in June of 2013 contacted veteran journalist Glen Greenwald and award-winning Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, asking both to meet him in a hotel room in Hong Kong. That 's meeting would be one that changed the culture of the United States. As the information, Mr. Snowden leaked showed that not only had the NSA been collecting information it had
“You can't have 100% security and then also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. Society had to make choices” said President Obama. It has become a given in society that it is on the government’s agenda to procure its nation’s safety in exchange of the privacy or freedom of the people. Edward Snowden, a paladin of social justice, has now come to light with outstanding facts as for what specifically it is that the National Security Agency (NSA) is able and willing to do for the country’s sake. Snowden, a 29-year-old NSA ex-employee, worked from Hawaii on his computer support for the recollection of data in bulk from the whole nation . Under the name of Verax, which means truth teller in Latin, he
This report purpose is to provide a point of view about two different Technological information leaking cases. It provides a clear explanation about the criminal charges against Edward Snowden, a former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) employee, a former contractor for the United States government, he copied and leaked classified information from the NSA organization without permissions in 2013. Snowden was charged with three different felonies on June 2013, as he stole a governmental property unauthorized communication of national defense information. The following number of lines could provide a detailed explanation for why Snowden was charged with these felonies and the American president comments on this. This paper also stocks
Edward Snowden is a United States citizen and former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden leaked information about the NSA to the media in 2013 and is now in Russia where he was recently granted three years of asylum. The NSA uses cryptology and others forms of information gathering to enable various networks to make advantageous decisions for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances. The NSA operates undetected by civilians, and uses global monitoring so broadly defined that it has allowed for unscrupulous behavior that was witnessed by contracted employee, Edward Snowden. Snowden believed that as the public gained knowledge of the illegal intelligence gathering by the government of domestic citizens, and abroad, he would gain protection from the public. Snowden did receive protection from people including powerful lawyers, journalists, and privacy advocates. Analysis of the Edward Snowden case
The ethical issues involving Edward Snowden’s case encompass key issues of morality. Snowden’s actions are to be interpreted as right or wrong based on the circumstances and personal reasoning. The preceding interpretation is this case in every ethical quandary. Once these issues are assimilated to the affected parties we begin to understand the larger picture of morality and ethical reasoning in Snowden’s case.