Edward Snowden - the Anti Hero

Drumil Zaveri

Professor Leithauser

English 101

October 16, 2016

Edward Snowden - The Anti Hero.

Edward Snowden, the man who has the “superpower” of the world on his fingertips (literally). I can imagine Snowden, once, being in a similar position to Marcus Brutus, not knowing what to do- whether to betray his country, for his country, or to let “evil” prosper in the country he serves for. He is willing to sacrifice himself and take the risk of never coming back to the United States only if that means that people of the United States enjoy the freedom that they have a right to. So the question that now arises is that – Is Edward Snowden a Hero or in disguise?

So let me be completely clear: Edward Snowden is a anti-hero. Saying so does not make me an apologist for terror – it makes me a firm believer in democracy and the rule of law. For years, UK and US governments broke the law. For years, they hid the sheer scale of their spying practices not just from the British and American public, but also from parliament. Without Snowden, we wouldn’t have a clue what they were up to. We cannot have a risk-free society, and it is too much to expect of the agencies or the law to deliver it. But surely we can have an open and balanced discussion about how we adapt to new threats while safeguarding the intimacy and dignity rightly carved by human beings. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Those are the words of the fourth amendment, included in the USA’s Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was created to limit the government’s power and guarantee personal freedoms. Specifically, the fourth amendment prohibits forms of surveillance that compromise a citizen’s privacy. Edward Snowden released documentation exposing government programs that are designed to breach personal information in order to assure national security. These programs, principally run by the NSA, undoubtedly stimulate unreasonable searches, violating the fourth amendment. There is obviously a public interest in enabling the government to keep some national security information secret. But under International human rights law, the public interest — not any particular government’s interest — is crucial. The protection of national security and public order may provide legitimate reasons for not disclosing certain sensitive information, but suppressing embarrassing or disturbing news does not. No one should be prosecuted for exposing human rights violations. At the very least, there has to be a genuine opportunity to offer a public interest defense. The USA is a republic. By definition it must be run for the people, by the people; the people previously had no knowledge of a nationwide surveillance system. Snowden unmasked a government that is unconstitutional and dishonest, deeming himself a savior.

Snowden has always been on top of his game in the IT department. He was a systems engineer, systems administrator, and senior adviser for the Central Intelligence Agency, solutions consultant, a telecommunications information system officer and an infrastructure analyst for NSA. In an interview with “The Guardian”, he had even said that he intended the government to have a good idea about what exactly he stole. Before he made off with the documents, he tried to leave a trail of digital breadcrumbs so investigators could determine which documents he copied and took and which he just “touched.” That way, he hoped, the agency would see that his motive was whistle-blowing and not spying for a foreign government. It would also give the government time to prepare for leaks in the future, allowing it to change code words, revise operational plans, and take other steps to mitigate damage.