Persuasive Essay On Edward Snowden

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The name Edward Snowden brings about a lot of controversy in “todays society.” He is seen as a terrorist or a hero, a traitor or a patriot, but no matter what label he is given, at his core, he is a rebel. Snowden sacrificed his comfortable life, working as a computer professional, to support his beliefs in government transparency and its accountability to the people. In this sense Snowden is a lot like Orwell, they both worked hard to spread information about topics that are shrouded in ambiguity and covered in censorship. Though they share a similarity with that belief, it is not the greatest likeness between them. Both Snowden and Orwell show time and time again that even when they have no chance of winning they will still fight for what …show more content…

The government has said that his actions have put many lives, both military and civilian, at risk. They believe that the information that he released has helped many terrorist groups avoid detection and showed them many vulnerabilities for them to exploit. However, many effects of the released documents were beneficial. The most tangible of which is the shutting down of the unconstitutional surveillance programs that the NSA was running. The Supreme Court declared these programs, which pushed Snowden over the edge, unconstitutional. Also the blatant breach in privacy has brought about a movement in many countries that has led to many new restrictions on government agencies and more stringent security to protect citizen’s information. No matter what the media has spun his story or how many people have begun to hate him, Snowden has never hesitated in his belief that what he did was right. He is fighting a battle against the superpower that is the United States that he cannot win, but he continues for the sole reason that he is causing change, and for that he will give everything. No matter what I see when I look at Snowden, weather a traitor or a patriot, I respect the strength he possesses believe that this is an occasion when it pays better to fight and be beaten than not to fight at