Edward Snowden: patriot or traitor in Citizenfour

Patriotism/Edward Snowden

Intstitution:

Edward Snowden, 30, well-known for his previous job as a contractor in the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), is presently living in Russia since his escape from the United States via Hong Kong, due to a revelation of extensive internet and phone surveillance carried out by U.S. intelligence. He used to live with his girlfriend in Hawaii, but after the revelation, initially left for Hong Kong, where his identity got public through UK's Guardian newspaper, with his consent. The U.S., as they filed charges, asked local officials for his deportation. Snowden thus left Hong Kong on 23rd June primarily for Moscow, but with the intent of seeking refuge in Ecuador (BBC News, 2013).

Background

As reported, Edward Snowden was brought up in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and then moved to Maryland later, near the headquarters of NSA at Fort Meade. He joined the U.S. Army in 2003, but had to leave his training with the Special Forces after breaking both his legs accidentally. He initially worked as a security guard at NSA, and later on IT security at CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). It is said that his rapid growth through intelligence ranks was due to his computer expertise. Later, he acquired a CIA post with diplomatic cover in Geneva, in 2007. He started working as an employee of various external contractors at the NSA in 2009, including consulting firm Booz Allen. He was formally discharged of his duties on 11 June, 2013 (BBC News, 2013).

Edward Snowden: A Patriot or Traitor

As disclosed during an interview with Brian Williams, on being asked whether he considers himself a patriot or a traitor, he confidently replied a patriot. But, he further explained that patriot is just a word, over-echoed and devalued now-a-days, which does not mean to prioritise one's service towards government above everything else. Rather, it means "knowing when to protect your country ... countrymen ... constitution" from the intrusions and advances of adversaries (Cole, Esposito, Dedman & Schone, 2014). It can be anything, bad policies, officials, faults of governments, or things that shouldn't have been tried or simply went wrong.

As he communicated to The Guardian that the revelation in Geneva, about the actual functioning of his government and its impact on the world, disheartened him to the extent that he realised that he was "part of something that was doing far more harm than good" (Cole et al., 2014).

His response to Williams' question of whether he regards himself blameless or has done a public service, according to himself, was very stimulating. He pointed out that throughout history, at many points the right thing is not always legal too. There have been times when you need to break a law to do something right, resulting in civil disobedience. It's just that you should be sure of what is at stake and that your detriment does not affect others. He also clarified that he never had any relationship with the Russian government. Neither did he meet the President nor took any money from them. Also, "I'm not a spy, which is the real question" (Cole et al., 2014). He further added that to be free, we can't sacrifice our privacy, our rights and become subject to surveillance, rather we should be a dynamic part of our government. His patriotism is evident from his statement that "there are some things worth dying for. And I think the country is one of them" (Cole et al., 2014).