Now that Edward Snowden is once again in the news, for being granted Russian citizenship, can we finally agree that our government’s actions toward him were completely despicable? Instead of addressing the incredibly worrying details revealed in his leak, such as our intelligence agencies’ extensive surveillance of the personal phones of the leaders of some of our closest allies and also of U.S. citizens, the government decided to undertake a smear campaign and threaten him with prison.
After Snowden’s leak, our leaders asked us to trust them when they said the damage done was extensive. Yet why would we trust our government in this instance when they were going against a man who had just revealed how extensively that same government lied to us? Why should Snowden not be praised for telling us exactly how the government avoids the law to spy on whoever it can?
Vladimir Putin’s granting of citizenship to Snowden is likely no more than a way to antagonize the U.S. government. Putin is a thuggish criminal, and the Ukrainian people must be victorious over their brutal enemy. But to lose track of the fact that Russia has brought to the forefront our moral failings regarding Snowden would be a mistake.
I have little confidence in our government to actually forgive Snowden, but we should absolutely demand it from our elected leaders.
— Ethan Feingold, Chicago
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