Edward Snowden: A Global Hero - Assignment Example

Edward Snowden- A Global Hero Introduction Edward Snowden made headlines in after revealing high profile information on NSA’s surveillance. The debate that followed his bold actions revolved around whether Snowden should be treated as a hero or a traitor. This paper takes its stand on the debate and discusses why Snowden should be treated as a hero whose bravery can be matched by few in his generation. Why Snowden should be seen as a Hero While releasing secret documents to media houses such as the Guardian and the Washington, Snowden did not request money for these disclosures. From this observation, one would conclude that he did not reveal the documents for any financial gains. While traitors seek to gain, financially, from their actions, Snowden demonstrated a true spirit of patriotism that has defined America’s most renowned whistleblowers. Cassidy argues that by exposing the colossal scale of the illegal surveillance carried out by the US government, Snowden’s services to the Americans outweighs any violation of work ethics he may have committed (Cassidy 1). According to him, Snowden deserves the title of a hero for managing to accomplish what few would do. Cassidy’s argument is supported by the over 100,000 signatures from an online platform created to put pressure on the government to call back Snowden. Through the platform, over 100,000 Americans backed Snowden’s actions for exposing the unethical and illegal surveillance carried out by NSA. An understanding of utilitarian ethics also explains Snowden’s moral action and establishes him as a moral hero. According to the theory, an act is ethical if it yields greater benefits to a larger percentage of the society than it yields harm to members of the society (Koopman, 138). Information that Snowden leaked identified government’s illegal practices that infringed people’s rights and required a remedy. An example is the leak on institutions that the government had marked for cyber attacks, a process that would impair the institutions’ operations and possibly inconvenience citizens who are clients to the organizations. The leak however exposed the plan that would definitely be aborted and would safeguard the stakeholders (AlJazeera 1). The government however suffered no harm in this because even if it had good motives for such attacks existing laws gives it power to access information and prevent possible threats from such organizations. The exposure also subjected the government to scrutiny and was likely to prevent future illegal acts by government agencies. Wright and Kreissl liken Snowden to Ellsberg who in 1971 revealed to the New York Times documents that showed that the US government had lied about the Vietnam War (Wright & Kreissl 22). While these kinds of whistleblowers are first regarded as traitors, the fruits of their actions are only realized much later after they are gone. It is important, therefore, that civil rights organization increase pressure on the government to oversee a change in the country’s whistle blowing policies. Even though legal provisions may protect classified government information and label whistle blowing, against the nation, as a crime, the act promote diversified social benefits and helps to preserve citizens’ rights. Preservation of such rights is the role of the government and this identifies benefit of whistle blowing to the nation. In addition, the constitution recognizes the need for checks and balances on branches of the government with the aim of preventing arbitrary actions (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 4). The branches may however lack information for necessary actions and the leak was therefore an empowerment towards checking actions of the executive branch and its agencies. The legislature could use the information to recall civil servants or to restrain actions of the executive and make the organ more accountable. The judiciary could similarly offer directives for protecting private entities from arbitrary actions of the executive. The acts by Snowden, therefore, made an initiative that could facilitate government’s roles and objectives and he should be considered a hero. The observation that his disclosures do not attack any specific individual but rather an immoral system that destroys privacy of its people also justified Snowden as a hero. His actions, therefore, lack a political or economic motivation. Additionally, one would note that Snowden does not act as a response to any mistreatment by the NSA. In this sense, Snowden’s motivation stems from his conscience and the need to expose a massive surveillance machine built by the NSA and that violate basic liberties of the Americans. According to Jarvis, considering that official oversight of information privacy in the US and the UK have failed, the two countries can only rely on the protection of last resort who according to him are individuals such as Snowden (Jarvis 1). He argues that only heroes such as Snowden who are ready to expose abuse of power once they detect it will ensure restoration of information privacy. Snowden, therefore, can be compared to past American heroes who dared to go against the government to expose illegal operations. Additionally, it would have been a challenging task and may be an impossible one to use legal means to end the illegal surveillance by the NSA. Another reason that justifies Snowden’s heroism is the fact that he does not release the information to specific parties but rather to reputable media houses in both the UK and the US. Having first released the documents to the Guardian on 5 June 2013, Snowden releases more documents to the Washington in a move that indicates his sincerity (Brock, Amanda & Carmela n.p., 2014). One would expect Snowden to release this classified information to American enemies if he had malicious intentions. Snowden also claimed that he did not posses any of the classified documents he had handed to the press. If this claim was taken to be true, it would serve to further prove that he did not have any malicious intentions. Although Snowden as been accused by the US for jeopardizing national security. According to the US government, Snowden compiled this information in careful manner that ensured that it hit most the US security system (Brock, Amanda & Carmela n.p., 2014). This argument, however, does not seem to hold any grounds considering that much of the information related to NSA’s surveillance of public phone calls. Additionally, NSA’s surveillance does not make the US more secure but rather hurts its economy by interfering with people’s ability to think, associate through media, and be creative. NSA’s surveillance further violates the freedom of speech as stipulated in the American constitution. NSA’s illegal surveillance goes against the very core of America’s society, a free society built on democratic practices. While NSA can argue that its surveillance is meant for the wellbeing of Americans, it goes against the principle of innocent until proven guilty. He uncovered illegal activities that none in power has dared to reveal. While some may argue that he should not have left his country if he really intended no harm, ii is critical to note that doing so would have led to him being punished. Similar to George Washington who failed to return to The King, Snowden fled from his country to avoid punishment as a normal human being would do. This should not therefore form the basis on which he is judged. Snowden’s action did not disclose America’s illegal surveillance but also spilled over to Canada’s CSEC that had been monitoring communication within Brazil’s mines. Through this disclosure, he further indicates that he does not target any specific individual or party, but wants to start a revolution aimed at ensuring governments uphold the rights of their citizens. In the information era, data privacy is becoming an increasingly critical issue and not even governments should be allowed to jeopardize efforts to ensure data privacy. Although no government wants its employees to reveal its secrets, whistleblowers’ rights should at all times upheld. Anyone who brings wrongdoings into light should always be seen as a hero. While this has been the case in America, 49 percent of Americans as indicated by recent research find it difficult to acknowledge Snowden as a hero probably because he revealed wrongdoings that the government committed. Snowden is a victim of circumstance who finds himself in fight with a powerful government (Ma 56). One is left to wonder whether Snowden would have been treated in the same way had he exposed a private agency rather than a government agency. Snowden can also be complimented for his actions as they sparked a debate that needed to happen. The U.S Congress together with its allies such as the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia has been debating on the issue of data privacy and the extent to which governments should control communication (Ma 56). Additionally, Americans are equally debating the revelations. Although balancing between privacy and national security can be a challenging task, the US government should always work within the provisions of the constitution even when doing so would amount to accepting wrongdoings. Conclusion Edward Snowden’s actions though not within the provisions of law, have sparked an important debate in America. While some people have viewed him as a traitor, Snowden deserves to be treated as a hero as his actions were meant to protect the interests of the public. By revealing unethical surveillance by the NSA, he demonstrated his good conscience and unwillingness to be part of what is illegal. Additionally, the fact that he did not request for any financial favors coupled with the observation that his actions do not seem to be politically motivated further demonstrates his true identity; a whistleblower who only finds himself under increased scrutiny for exposing the government. Works Cited Al Jazeera. “Timeline of Edward Snowden’s revelations.” Al Jazeera. N.d. Web. November 24, 2014. < http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/multimedia/timeline-edward-snowden-revelations.html >. Brock, Deborah, Amanda, Glasbeek, & Carmela Murdocca. Criminalization, Representation, Regulation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. Print. Cassidy, John. The New Yorker. Why Edward Snowden is A Hero. June 10, 2013. Web. 2 November 2014. Jarvis, Jeff. The Guardian. The debate continues on Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor. 26 November 2013. Web. 4 November 2014. Koopman, Colin. Pragmatism as transition: Historicity and hope in James, Dewey, and Rrorty. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2013. Print. Ma, Will. New Media, Knowledge Practices and Multiliteracies: Hkaect 2014 International Conference. Singapore: Springer , 2014. Print. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn about the United States: Quick civics lessons for the naturalization test. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2013. Print. Wright, David & Kreissl, Reinhard. Surveillance in Europe. UK: Routledge, 2014. Print. Read More