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Edward Snowden: Hero Or Traitor?

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Treasonous Valor

Edward Snowden believed he was doing the right thing when he illegally released classified documents. He saw the government’s wrongdoings and thought the public should know that their fourth amendment was being violated. While Snowden believed his intentions were justifiable, his actions created one of our countries’ most controversial issues. He made known of illegal activities by turning around and doing something illegal himself. Two wrongs do not make a right. [THESIS] Edward Snowden is a traitor to the United States of America and should be prosecuted. [THESIS]

The main issue in the case is that Snowden leaked classified surveillance data. The surveillance data revealed that the government was spying on the public by …show more content…

The issue at hand was supposed to be about our civil liberties being violated, but Snowden inadvertently put the spotlight on himself by breaking the law as well. Thus, bringing up our topic of him being a hero or a traitor rather than just the government breaking civil laws. While the topic of Snowden is a valid issue, it is not exactly the one that should be receiving the most attention by the media. Instead of focusing on who did what, we should be focusing on the public’s rights and safety. The argument against Snowden also brings up the false dilemma fallacy. Edward Snowden is either a hero who should be pardoned for his crimes or he is a traitor who should be punished. It is either one or the other. Why can he not be a hero that is prosecuted as well? A perfect example of this would be Nelson Mandela. He was arrested and imprisoned for 27 years for standing against his government because he believed what they were doing was wrong. Mandela is a prime example of a …show more content…

What he did was for a good cause, but it was still wrong. Geoffrey Stone affirmed, “There is a federal statute that makes it a crime for public employees who have been granted access to classified information to reveal that information to persons who are unauthorized to receive it” (Democracy Now). Edward Snowden did exactly that by handing over the classified documents to several journalists. As I mentioned earlier, he had good intentions, but breaking the law for whatever reason is still breaking the law. Stone also stated, “Whether one admires what he did is another question, but it doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not what he did was unlawful” (Democracy

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