Edward Snowden has been a house hold name since he came
forward as the source of the NSA leak this past summer. I was first introduced
to the name through a co-worker, who asked me one day if I had heard about the
man that was in China trying to sell information of U.S. citizens. My response
was to investigate the story, because her claim seemed farfetched and did not
make much since. Upon my own research I discovered Snowden was not attempting
to sell U.S. information, but rather was trying to inform the U.S. public that
they were under constant surveillance and the information was being stored. When
the story first broke in the media the theme was a breach in national security,
and Snowden was a threat to the nation. As the story has developed over the
past six months, the real intent of Snowden’s leak is becoming clearer. I do
not think he is a terrorist, as some media stations are describing him to be. His
exact words in the interview with The Guardian
are that he wanted the public to decide how much they should be under surveillance,
and should be aware. Whistleblowers have no protection in the U.S., especially
when they are leaking information that exposes the government doing something
wrong and unjust. So, I am not surprised
he fled the country. It takes courage to go against a powerful government, and
intelligence to stay alive once you have done so. The U.S. public is now aware
of the NSA’s actions; it will be interesting to see how they respond over time
with conflicting opinions and news reports about the intent of the leaker and
the NSA. If you are interested in who Snowden really is, I suggest watching his
interview :
If you want to know how this information impacts you check look
at this site: http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded#section/1
How the story has developed: http://www.theguardian.com/world/the-nsa-files
And, how the news media portrays him in general: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/11/04/exp-newday-starr-snowden-clemency.cnn.html
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