The Life Of Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden exposed NSA’s illegal surveillance in June 2013, this brought about controversial discussions inside America and all around the world. However, we stay oblivious how this thirty-year-old school dropout advanced to become one of the world's most noticeable critics of the government. Snowden is considered a hero and a patriot of the country, human rights movements like ACLU and Amnesty International advocate that Edward Snowden did great deeds to champion for the privacy rights of the citizens. (Greenwald, 2014) On the contrary, some people and the US intelligence consider Snowden a traitor to the state, the way he exposed the NSA was dubious and brought great risk to the international relationship between the US and other countries. Moreover, the state government accused him of breaching of information of the state.

Furthermore, Edward Snowden had done more than disclose the governments illegals acts, but also inform the world about programs and secret government agendas about how much freedom and privacy is being taken away in the name of security. Samuel Adams also once said, “The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought.” In this sense, Edward Snowden had valued freedom more so over anything against it, and had acted as he did fighting and defending his individual freedom. Edward Snowden had also fought for the truth, and not only exposed the government, but also to the American people what was happening to their rights and freedoms. The many stories and historical freedom fighters had even put their lives on the line for truth and liberty, and Edward Snowden had also done the same and succeeding in continuing the fight for freedom. Many who also who perceive Edward Snowden as a hero inspire them to do the same as he had, and exposing the government of their false truths and secrecy.

Another issue in this case is the “theft” that Snowden partook in. Theft is the “act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny” ("Theft | Define Theft at Dictionary.com." xx). This aspect of the case is important because Snowden’s actions reject the cultural norms of what is expected of individuals in respect to the term. These expectations within our culture is for individuals to not commit acts of theft.

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

“Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re being watched and recorded,” said former NSA information technology contractor, Edward Snowden, as quoted in an article by CNN political reporter, Jeremy Diamond. Despite his low position in the National Security Agency, Snowden caught the world’s eye in 2013 when he leaked documents revealing the NSA and FISC’s plans for mass domestic surveillance in the United States. His decision to reveal classified documents sent the nation into widespread outrage. The NSA had access to not only metadata (records of activity), but also content containing personal information that Americans rightfully assumed was protected by laws such as the Stored Communications Act (SCA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act

Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.

First of all, in the contents of this debate, we support that Snowden’s actions were necessary. We understand that there must be a balance between privacy and national security. However, the NSA and government were overstepping their mandate to protect American citizens. Checks and balances in intelligence agencies deteriorated, resulting in secrecy, abuse of power, and stretched interpretations of the

The article, “Why Edward Snowden is a Hero,” penned by John Cassidy, seeks to illuminate the actions of Edward Snowden. As an international controversial figure, Snowden is responsible for leaking enormous amounts of classified information regarding the National Security Agency (N.S.A.). Cassidy contends the data Snowden disclosed to the public revealed that the government actively, knowingly, and deliberately trampled upon the liberties of the American people, by spying on them. Cassidy’s article argues: “Snowden has brought to light important information that deserved to be in the public domain, while doing no lasting harm to the national security of his country.” (Cassidy 2) Comparing the law against Snowden’s actions appears to dismay the populace; the notion that upstanding citizens do not break the law gets in the way of their ability to perceive “real” justice. Corruption, especially government corruption, must be stopped once encountered in any capacity, or our collective liberties may fall. Cassidy maintains Snowden’s hero status, as he perhaps purposefully did not provide an accounting of “algorithms that the N.S.A. uses.” (Cassidy 2) If so, this testifies to his ultimate goodness, by not providing the United States’ populace or rival countries with “groups of individuals” that the N.S.A. targets. (Cassidy 2)

On May 20 2013, Snowden had traveled to Hong Kong to meet with Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, journalists for The Guardian, in order to turn over NSA documents revealing various U.S. surveillance programs and tactics that are used on their citizens and on citizens in other countries. Snowden had also given

Another rule of Rule Utilitarianism that Snowden violated is rule seven, “Keep your promises.” As part of his contract for working at the NSA, Snowden signed an agreement or oath in which he promised to keep confidential information private and would not reveal classified information or else he would face the consequences of doing such. Breaking this rule did not have a solid argument for increasing happiness either, so this is also unethical. 3. In Act Utilitarianism, Snowden’s decision to expose the NSA’s surveillance techniques caused a massive decrease in overall happiness in the United States, since everyone began to argue about whether or not the NSA is justifiable in these actions.

Edward Snowden, was a former US(NSA) contractor, now lives in Russia after fleeing the United States via Hong Kong in May, having revealed extensive internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence.

The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. He was brought up originally in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. His family moved later to Maryland, near the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade.

Intelligence officials are now being forced to join the debate, while President Obama has authorized the declassification of thousands of documents. Current and former officials say that Snowden releasing the documents has triggered groups like Al-Qaeda and associates changing their tactics. In July, Snowden confirmed that he has not released anything that could put any other officials in danger or the sources of the documents, he has only released files on surveillance. While staying in Hong Kong, Snowden gave an interview to the South China Morning Post, in which he describe how the U.S. has been spying on Chinese Universities. Disclosing this frustrated Americans who were attempting to embarrass China so it would reduce its Industrial-Espionage efforts. A story in Der Spiegel, using some of the Snowden documents, showed British spies working with the U.S. government, using fake LinkedIn accounts to install malware on computers used by Foreign Telecom Providers. Telecommunications companies, who are known for working with the NSA, have also taken hits from the leaks. Now living in Russia, Snowden does not believe every story is true, which is why he doesn’t defend all of them. Snowden says he has designed his actions to ensure that he was not the sole person deciding whether or not some of the documents should be seen by public eye. In August 2014 Snowden's refugee status expired, he can either renew his refugee status or he can apply for Russian citizenship. It is still unclear what will happen to Snowden if he ever comes back to the U.S. if he does, he should be guaranteed a fair trial like everyone else. In conclusion, through everything Snowden has done, which do include major crimes, Snowden may be a complete villain in the eyes of most, but in the eyes of everyone else, Snowden is a

In other words, a theory on Edward Snowden’s course of actions state that his decisions were based off of impulses although he claimed otherwise by mentioning that it was out of concern for public awareness. Nonetheless, Snowden’s decisions led him to be exiled from the U.S. and travel into new territory such as Hong Kong and where he currently lives, Russia. Consequently, if Snowden ever returns to U.S. territory then he is susceptible to face the full consequences for his

Edward Snowden is well-known for his actions in early to mid 2013. His case, despite being more than four years old, is still highly discussed and debated in politics, the media, and even in classrooms. Though Snowden, as a modern-day rebel, has likely not finished his work of changing society, it is important to examine his actions while they are still going on, especially because of who he is. As a high-school dropout, many may not have considered him to have much potential, but despite this, he was able to land a high-profile NSA career. His life would have been all laid out in