Edward Snowden Hero

Words: 1539
Pages: 7
Open Document
Loyalty is a trait most often viewed in a positive light. If someone is described as loyal they can typically be trusted with matters of importance. However, what happens when a seemingly loyal person turns around and betrays the trust of the very people who believed in them and gave them everything? In the case of Edward Snowden, a 34-year-old former NSA contractor, he betrayed the trust of his own country and the agencies instituted for its protection. In May 2013, Snowden revealed classified documents to the American people about the NSA’s mass surveillance programs that were being operated outside of the knowledge of the general public and constitutional rights of the people. Many people perceive Snowden as a hero to the public for shining …show more content…
Although the documents may have changed some of the public’s view on government surveillance, they did not affect the overall population as much as one might think. In 2006, thirteen years before the documents were made available to the public, a poll was given on NSA surveillance. In the results of this poll, a little over half of the people polled said that NSA surveillance was acceptable. Then, in 2015 a new poll was given over the same topic and the public opinion was pretty evenly divided again. However, this time, about “52% [consider] themselves as ‘very concerned’ or ‘somewhat concerned’.” The reason behind this is probably because the documents just filled in details about programs that people already assumed were going on. All of the jokes made in passing to be careful of what you say or do online because the government was watching, had been going on for a while before the release of the actual documents. The news stories put out about the documents were written to create the impression of a huge scandal, but most of the time they just confirmed that the NSA was doing what people would have guessed they were …show more content…
However, Russia has extended his asylum more than once so it could possibly happen again. Snowden is still working on trying to end the surveillance of the world’s citizens and is unlikely to give up until he gets the outcome he desires. The United States government is extremely unlikely to pardon him although there are many petitions and movements to do so. Snowden has expressed interest in one day hopefully returning to the United States. According to Oliver Stone, a movie director who directed the movie Snowden in 2016, Snowden “has played it very straight” and “wants to [come] back home.” However, the US has other plans for him. If Snowden were to return to the country, at the moment all that waits for him here are criminal proceedings and a long prison
Show More

Related Documents: Edward Snowden Hero

Edward Snowden Is No Hero

Some people have called Edward Snowden a hero, others believe he is a criminal. The NSA terminated him “for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy.” His revelation of the existence of NSA troves of metadata on the phone calls of Americans raised concerns about the protection of privacy. From the article in New Yorker “Edward Snowden Is No Hero”, it was published that he was “Instead, in an act that speaks more to his ego than his conscience, he threw the secrets he knew up in the…

Words 226 - Pages 1

Edward Snowden: Hero Or Traitor

Hero. Whistleblower. Patriot. Traitor. These are just a few of the names that Edward Snowden has been called. In June 2013 Snowden, a former system administrator for the CIA and counterintelligence trainer for the DIA, leaked thousands of classified documents on surveillance programs to the media. This leak triggered a security melt down. The leaks included the government’s methods and reasons for collecting on American people. In an interview with one of Britain's newspapers, The Guardian, Snowden…

Words 470 - Pages 2

Edward Snowden Is A Hero Essay

Ed Snowden is a Hero In the USA there is something call Bill of Rights. Something that was created to limit the government’s power and keep the people’s freedoms. The fourth amendment prohibits forms of surveillance that compromise a citizen’s privacy. Edward Snowden a worker at NSA released documentation exposing the government and their program, designed to breach personal information in order to assure national security. These programs, principally run by the NSA, which is violating the fourth…

Words 585 - Pages 3

Edward Snowden: A True Hero

to British actor Tom Hiddleston, “Every villain is the hero in their own story”.When Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency subcontractor, leaked classified and confidential government records to media outlets for the world to access, many hailed him as a courageous and righteous hero. However, even though many, including Snowden himself, believe that his actions were heroic, society’s definition of a hero clearly portray Snowden as a self-centered villain. One fundamental pillar of a…

Words 564 - Pages 3

Jones Research Essay

Jeremy Jones Beirn 12­23­14 Research essay Edward Snowden is influential in many different ways. Although some people might hate him very much for leaking confidential information, others like him very much and think that he did the right thing by leaking information that the nsa was spying on people, violating their right of privacy. He influenced many people to speak out about how their rights were being violated and to speak out and tell the government about its wrongdoings. For…

Words 1061 - Pages 5

Edward Snowden Research Paper

Edward Snowden was born in North Carolina in 1983. He took a citation in the US Army in 2004 with the hope of becoming part of the US Special Forces fighting in Iraq. He is a whistleblower who revealed how states engage in mass surveillance on a scale that no one could imagine. He was employed as a computer technician at the Central Intelligence Agency. After Snowden begin to work within the US intelligence services, he gained more access to information and higher security levels. Snowden has explained…

Words 575 - Pages 3

Essay about Snowden Vs The NSA

Snowden vs. the NSA Edward Snowden was a 29 year old contractor for the National Security Council when he stole tens of thousands of documents from the U.S. government. His goal was to shed light on what was happening in the U.S.A. without the consent or knowledge of its citizens. Fearing for his life, Snowden leaked documents to the media to show the world what is actually going on. The NSA are collecting and analyzing mass amounts of data called metadata. He has been viewed as either a hero…

Words 1523 - Pages 7

Edward Snowden Research Paper

Edward Snowden: Villain or Hero? “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…

Words 1020 - Pages 5

School Memo Essay

security breach committed by Edward Snowden. Snowden is a former system administrator for the CIA, who later worked for a private intelligence contractor. He worked inside National Security Agency office in Japan and later on in Hawaii. During his work at the NSA office in Hawaii, Snowden started to access confidential information from the U.S. intelligence database and downloaded all activities and partnerships with other governments. During this security breach Snowden access data that revealed the…

Words 497 - Pages 2

Conflict involves a clash of ideas interests and expectations Essay

ideas, interests and expectations By Caitlin Kerr Edward Snowden. No doubt everyone has heard the story, and everyone has different opinions on his actions. He has been labelled whistle-blower, traitor and even hero by some. But I am not here to debate whether or not this man was right or wrong in what he did. I am here to explain the cause of this monumental conflict. To give some context for those of you who do not know the full story Edward Snowden was working as a consultant for the NSA; as a system…

Words 1432 - Pages 6