Edward Snowden is a 29-year old male who leaked the greatest mysteries about what the NSA, National Security Agency, is actually doing. His confidential leaks are some of the most crucial political leaks in history. On the other hand, Snowden created controversy in America, and cause people to distrust the government, even though he used illegal means to obtain this information. (Luce) Edward used rhetoric, culture, and deception in reports to the public. However, the question appears, “does the end ever justify the means?” In my opinion, I do think that the end of this dilemma is justified. Edward, a former employee of the NSA, released to the public, confidential information about our government invading our privacy. It is estimated that Snowden took about 1.7 million classified documents containing information about the NSA. The public knows the most about his leak concerning phone taps, and a database storing every single call made in the United States. They are screened for target words that can signify terrorism or other illegal activities. (Greenwald) However, the United States of America is known for democracy, a government where people have a say. A dictatorship is where the government tells its people what to do, and can keep secrets out of the public eye. With our cultural practices in America, we customarily have a strong national pride. So this leaking of information, going against our own government, made some people believe Edward Snowden was a traitor and spy of Russia trying to sell national secrets. Others, who believe our government, have secrets to hide from us, believe that Snowden is a hero. (Luce) When asked about how Edward felt when he first leaked the NSA files to the public, he responded, “I underst... ... middle of paper ... ...Jack. "Jack Kerwick - The Case of Edward Snowden: Reason v Rhetoric." townhall.com. N.p., 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. . Luce, Edward. "Edward Snowden has done us all a favour – even Barack Obama - FT.com." Financial Times. N.p., 3 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014. . Sanger, David , and Eric Schmitt. "xpostfactoid." Edward Snowden, rhetorician?. N.p., 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. . Wittes, Benjamin. "Edward Snowden Is Russia's Puppet Now." New Republic. N.p., 19 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. .
Olson, Annie. “An Introduction to Rhetoric.” Le Tourneau U, May 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
Kevin M. Gallagher. 2013. Freedom of the Press Foundation. Glenn Greenwald, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'. Video file posted on YouTube on June 9, 2013.
him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the
Glenn Greenwald, a talented and widely read columnist on civil liberties for the Guardian newspaper, failed in his attempt to alarm his readers to the flagrant and widespread violations of American privacy. Although his article was full of facts, documentation, and quotes from top rank officials, the article did not convey any sense of wrong doing or outrage. Rather it was dull, lacked passion and a sense of persuasion. In fact, the only attention grabbing part in the whole article is the title.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
Keck, Zachary. "Yes, Edward Snowden Is a Traitor." The Diplomat. N.p., 21 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014
In early June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former defense contractor who had access to NSA database while working for an intelligence consulting company, leaked classified documents reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) is recording phone calls of millions of Americans along with gathering private data and spying foreign Internet activity. The Washington Post later broke the news disclosed PRISM, a program can collect data on Internet users. The leaked documents publicly stated a vast objection. Many people were shocked by the scale of the programs, even elected representatives were unaware of the surveillance range. A nationwide debate over privacy rights have been sparked. Although supporters claim that the NSA only does its best to protect the United States from terrorists as well as respecting Americans' rights and privacy, many civil rights advocates feel that the government failed to be clear about the limit of the surveillance programs, threatening Americans' civil...
Rutland, Peter Rutland. "Snowden Tests Putin's Machiavellianism." The Moscow Times. The Moscow Times, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. .
Before all of the top secret NSA (National Security Agency) documents on which details of a global surveillance system run by NSA were breached, Edward Snowden was an American computer specialist, a CIA member, and an NSA contractor. Edward Snowden was a regular, wealthy, government employee with some great positions and credentials. He was an American born man and was serving his country. He won the Sam Adams award which is given once a year to an intelligence professional who shows great integrity to the CIA. Many other recipients of this award have also been whistle blowers like Snowden. Before all the leaking and background information is given keep the question of hero or villain in your mind.
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
The American government used to be able to keep the people in happy ignorance to the fact that they watch every move they make. After certain revelations of people like Edward Snowden, the public knows the extent of the government spying. On June 5, 2013 Edward Snowden leaked documents of the NSA to the Guardian (The Guardian 2). The whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the world how the American government collects information like cell phone metadata, Internet history, emails, location from phones, and more. President Obama labeled the man a traitor because he showed the world the illegal acts the NSA performs on US citizens (Service of Snowden 1). The government breached the people’s security, and now the people are afraid because everyone is aware of how the US disapproves of people who do not agree with their programs. Obama said that these programs find information about terrorists living in the US, but he has lit...
While Manning’s case is one highlighting lax security procedure, the case of Edward Snowden is one of stark contrast. Edward Snowden grew up near the National Security Agency headquarters in Maryland (Scherer & Shuster, 2013). He is a high school dropout who found an alternate identity on the Internet (Scherer & Shuster, 2013). His father was a US Coast Guard Officer and mother worked as a clerk in the federal court, they separated when Snowden was still a toddler (Scherer & Shuster, 2013). Snowden started his career as a CIA employee in Switzerland, where he annotated his displeasure with ongoing activities on anonymous chat boards (Scherer & Shuster, 2013). Edward Snowden worked as systems administrator for Booz Allen Hamilton on contract support to the National Security Agency in Hawaii (Scherer & Shuster, 2013). Snowden’s duties allowed him to have administrator privileges; which he used to by-pass authentication procedures to gain access above what he needed or received clearance. The National Security Agency is one of the most secure facilities within the Department of Defense, yet Snowden managed to acquire 1.7 million Top
It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of a 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. To give the full picture of Edward Snowden I must start with his role in the government. Edward Snowden never graduated from high school, nor did he graduate from community college (Yann 1). In 2003 he joined the U.S. Army briefly until he was discharged when he broke both his legs in a training accident (BBC 1).
In conclusion, Edward Snowden was justified in leaking the unlawful actions conducted by the NSA because he wanted to uphold the constitutional rights of privacy, which Americans are entitled to. While few may view Edward Snowden as a traitor for sharing sensitive information to the public, many commend him for his courageousness. Snowden broke the law in order to expose the unlawful practices conducted by governments officials. It is unfortunate to live in a society where the people elected to protect the rights of the people are the ones violating them.. It takes a lot of strength and courage for one man to stand up against the government, to protect the rights of an entire nation. Edward Snowden will go down in history as one of the most notorious whistle blowers