Edward Snowden: Friend or Foe Essay Example

Edward Snowden: Friend or Foe There is a pressing issue which continues to stand prevalent in our current time: whether Edward Snowden was a whistle blower, or a traitor. Those who are support him call him a hero protecting the people; others, however view him as a traitor against his nation. As the current issue stands, the only middle ground that can be seen is for Snowden to be able to have a fair trial. A respectable amount of people believe that Snowden should not be viewed as a patriot but rather traitor or defector. The people who believe so also believe that his actions were unjust and can be considered an attack on the United States. The facts of the situation are that Snowden signed a contract under the NSA to keep their secret but broke the contract by leaking information to the public. There is a great concern amongst political officials that the information leaked would be used by enemies of the United States. Snowden’s actions meant to harm the United States but rather to inform of the underhanded actions of the government. What he did was what he believed to be the morally just thing to do. For those who support Snowden, they view his actions as commendable because without his sacrifice, the people would not have known of the actions of the government. Snowden revealed NSA procedures and how they are able to gather information on US citizens without a warrant, and the United States is monitoring Europe and China. For most people, they feel violated because not only are they able to obtain information on them without consent. With light shed on the government’s illegal activities, the people must question the actions within the government because “in a democracy, the law should never be secret” (German). The Whistleblower Protection Act was made to protect employees that believe that their employer is violating, any law, rule, or regulation and wish to them; in Snowden’s case, reporting the actions of the government. Although this act was