Edward Joseph Snowden is an “American Computer professional, former CIA employee, and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA in 2013 without prior authorization.” After taking actions to reveal thousands of National Security Agency documents, he is referred to by many as a whistleblower. Snowden, due to his actions, has been charged for violation of theft of government property and violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. Did he put himself up for government prosecution to save us? Is he our knight in shining armor? Is he the one who is going to save us all from the overpowering government fist? No - and he may have just made matters a lot worse for us. For all we know, this
…show more content…
“The Constitutional Amnesia of the NSA Snooping Scandal” has formed a valid question in my mind. How can President Barack Obama “assure us that we need not be worried about the National Security Agency listening to our phone calls or monitoring out Internet use,” when we are assured by the Fourth Amendment’s “ban on general warrants on indiscriminate searches without probable cause”? How can America’s president possibly think that the NSA’s programs are “healthy for our democracy” when we have an act in place that has informed us that we are not to be searched. My concern does not lie within answering whether or not Edward Snowden is America’s hero, but why Americans have listened to the calming and assuring voice of Obama telling us that searching is okay when we have laws against them doing …show more content…
So, why wouldn’t we give them the permission to do so? My answer to your questions may have sided with both opinions throughout the essay, but I have a clear understanding of why both sides feel the way that they do. I would say that Snowden may not be a national hero, but a guy that will change the way that the government acknowledges some’s issues with invasion of their privacy. He was a person that shined a light on something that most Americans had no idea was happening – that was his contribution. Perhaps the government will decide to take actions to ensure Americans that searching is the only - ergo best - option we currently have to solve an ongoing issue we are facing. In my opinion, the “war on terror” should be a much larger priority than debating if the government is infringing on our Fourth Amendment. The safety of our country is something I truly believe is the largest priority of the American government. I trust that if they were to solve the current problem of terrorist invasions and threats, we would not have to deal with this infringement on our
“The Constitutional Amnesia of the NSA Snooping Scandal” has formed a valid question in my mind. How can President Barack Obama “assure us that we need not be worried about the National Security Agency listening to our phone calls or monitoring out Internet use,” when we are assured by the Fourth Amendment’s “ban on general warrants on indiscriminate searches without probable cause”? How can America’s president possibly think that the NSA’s programs are “healthy for our democracy” when we have an act in place that has informed us that we are not to be searched. My concern does not lie within answering whether or not Edward Snowden is America’s hero, but why Americans have listened to the calming and assuring voice of Obama telling us that searching is okay when we have laws against them doing …show more content…
So, why wouldn’t we give them the permission to do so? My answer to your questions may have sided with both opinions throughout the essay, but I have a clear understanding of why both sides feel the way that they do. I would say that Snowden may not be a national hero, but a guy that will change the way that the government acknowledges some’s issues with invasion of their privacy. He was a person that shined a light on something that most Americans had no idea was happening – that was his contribution. Perhaps the government will decide to take actions to ensure Americans that searching is the only - ergo best - option we currently have to solve an ongoing issue we are facing. In my opinion, the “war on terror” should be a much larger priority than debating if the government is infringing on our Fourth Amendment. The safety of our country is something I truly believe is the largest priority of the American government. I trust that if they were to solve the current problem of terrorist invasions and threats, we would not have to deal with this infringement on our