President Franklin D. Roosevelt once claimed that the only thing to fear is fear itself, and besides the natural phobias of life people endure, he is correct. President Thomas Jefferson, however, disagreed and claimed something different: “[Insurrection] is the only thing that we have to fear” (Mirkin 69). Speaking for the government at the time, Thomas Jefferson believed that civil disobedience varies in effectiveness and justifiability depending on the reason behind it. His theory is applicable today when speaking of America’s struggles, especially pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement. When peacefully resisting laws, however, there is a fine line between ego-fulfilling, which negatively impacts society, and selfless resistance, which is beneficial for …show more content…
This is prominently recognized through the intents of Edward Snowden. Despite being recognized as a hero for announcing the “technical capability” the United States government has for intercepting American communications, his whistle-blowing act is obviously to fuel his own ego (Cassidy 3). For example, the information regarding America’s spying would not surprise “organized terrorist groups” that naturally avoid being monitored already, and Snowden did not even reveal the N.S.A.’s methods of surveillance (2). Additionally, he gave no classified information, so why even release it? Instead of reporting to the press, he could have protested the situation in court, as is natural when government employees are dissatisfied, but Snowden did not do so (Toobin 3). He released the secrets to fuel his narcissistic tendencies; Snowden exposed the N.S.A. because they did not “meet his own standards of propriety” (2). Society was affected negatively because of his selfish deed; panic was widespread for years and no positive changes occurred within laws. Because Snowden’s civil disobedience was egotistical, society was negatively
Thomas Jefferson was a very influential person and leader in the development of what is modern-day United States. He was a writer, lawyer, and president. He’s one of the well-known figures in U.S history. If you ever seen a twenty dollar bill, Jefferson’s face is printed in the front. Jefferson is known for his estate which is called Monticello and it means “Little Mountain” in Italian.
After September 11th, Americans looked to the government for protection and reassurance. However, they did not expect to find out thirteen years later that the government did this by using technology to spy on Americans, as well as other countries. George W. Bush began the policy shortly after the terrorist attack and Barack Obama continued it. There have been many confrontations over the years about the extent of the N.S.A.’s spying; however, the most recent whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, leaked information that caused much upset throughout America (EFF). It has also brought many people to question: is he a hero or a traitor?
Edward Snowden is responsible for exposing these government secrets. Many call this an act of treason, but it can also be seen as an act of civil disobedience. The most peaceful nature of his rebellion, and the unconstitutional behavior that it consequentially exposed qualify his actions. Although it was wrong of him to escape the consequences of his actions by fleeing to Hong Kong, his actions were ultimately beneficial to the American public. Being spied upon by the government is a direct violation of our right to privacy, and hiding it from the public is wrong as well. From John Cassidy’s article, “Why Edward Snowden is a hero,” he quotes Ellsberg; “‘This wholesale invasion of Americans and foreign citizens’ privacy does not contribute to our security; it puts in danger the very liberties we are trying to protect.’” The act of bringing these facts to light is an act of trying to preserve our liberty, and that’s what civil disobedience is all about.
Edward Snowden isn’t the only person who believes what the U.S. had done was wrong, but also many American leaders, and other nations around the world. The United States had not only been collecting data on their own citizens, but also of other countries leaders and citizens. The release of these documents had strained political relationships between the U.S. and other allied nations. The knowledge and truth other leaders and nations had gained
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.
As our nation’s third president, first secretary of state and author Thomas Jefferson has been apprehended as a man that had a major impact on American History. Thomas Jefferson was an influential person that changed America for the best. His actions created a major change in the U.S. and still continue to change America Today. Thomas Jefferson had reasons for what he was trying to accomplish and he knew it would benefit America in the future. I believe Thomas Jefferson had a major impact on American history by purchasing the Louisiana Territory, writing the Declaration Of Independents and Passing the statute of Religious Freedom.
Most Americans know who the founding fathers are. But, not many know what they have done for us and how hard they have worked to be a part of the American Revolution. Subconsciously, each of these men had a great impact on the revolution that started this country. Thomas Jefferson loved education and was well known for being the true author of the Declaration of Independence and for his wisdom. Benjamin Franklin, respectfully known as a diplomat, was also known as a great inventor, printer, and writer. Thomas Paine was a spectacular journalist who is best known for his anonymous pamphlet called “Common Sense.” Through these great men, our country rose.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” What is fear? Fear can be a noun or a verb. In the noun form, it is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. In the verb form, it is to be afraid of someone or something that is dangerous, painful, or threatening. If one person looks into fear, then that person becomes feared. But imagine a whole society or community looking into fear. The fear not only gets larger as it spreads, but it also gets more fearful than it already is. The power of fear can be displayed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in Ronald Oakley’s “The Great Fear”. As fear moves on from one mind to the next, it leaves the
The books we were reading was Rousseau’s “The Origin of Civil Society” and Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence” from World of Ideas book. The Declaration of Independence was very famous for almost three hundred years and they still kept the old faded document in the museum in New York. In here, the paper was an example of the beauty mind and intelligence words explaining that they no longer want to be part of King’s country (England). It refers to the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitling the people to assume any type of political independence. Rousseau argued in his book that society was born in a social contract. So the paper will summary up and discuss two authors and their works.
Civil disobedience is a crucial part of any free society, especially a society that wishes to give its citizens the most liberty possible. Looking back on American history, one can see that the colonists originally protested the laws that Britain had imposed, and had done so peacefully. By not paying taxes and by assembling outside public offices, the colonists disobeyed British laws and the British crown. Their protests not only helped spark the American Revolution, but also made light of the fact that any free society relies on its citizens to disobey the government, especially when it's done peacefully.
Thomas Jefferson was not just a Founding Father of the United States of America. He played a key role in the politics surrounding the American Revolution, but he also had various other accomplishments. Jefferson was also associated with the Enlightenment era. Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 and died on July 4, 1826. He lived in Virginia, where he built his estate, Monticello.
When America developed their government it was pretty unique in comparison to the rest of the world at the time, it seems an almost near miracle that anything could be created all the way from the ground up like it seems it was. That is not, however, the entire story. There were many people that inspired and influenced American democracy, for example John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu.
Critics of Edward Snowden label him a traitor and a coward. They condemn him for irreparably harming government security operations and setting of a worldwide chain of events that weakened the American position on the world stage. While America now has blight on its records due to the leaks, the topic that should be addressed is should the whistle-blower, the man who uncovered and exposed the questionable and wrong activities, be blamed or should those who allowed the illegal and immoral activities be held accountable for what they started. Edward Snowden had the justification and conviction to do the correct thing and present the incriminating evidence straight to the public. When one takes in consideration everything that Snowden has lost because of his decision, there was little gain for him to make the immoral activities public. Snowden’s crime is breaching the trust of his government contract to expose egregious monitoring by the government on the American public. In an interview conducted by the Washington Post, Snowden speaks out about his goal in releasing the files: “All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed,”
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
In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacy and the ethics behind whistleblowing in general. The reach and impact of these leaks have gone global and have put in question the very government that protects us as well as the extent of the public’s rights on privacy. Various foreign