Traitor or Patriot? What a silly question, after ‘Inside Snowden’

[struggle4progress]

By Alexandra Petri
May 29 at 12:56 pm

... Why is NBC’s framing of this issue coming down to the blindingly simple question of “traitor” or “patriot”? ... I don’t think this issue is exactly served by shouting, “Pick a team! Pick a team!” ...

If you don’t have time to watch “Rashomon,” just read the coverage of Edward Snowden, and you’ll be fine. He, and the news he generated, have always been a minefield of contradictions: Did his information help shed needed sunshine into the workings of U.S. intelligence- and data-gathering? Or did it irreparably jeopardize current operations and put personnel at risk? Does it matter, in answering the first question, whether he personally is a “grandiose narcissist” or a “national hero“? If the information he provided was valuable enough to the public debate to earn a Pulitzer, why is it bad that he put it out there? Did he do the right thing for the right reasons, the wrong thing for the right reasons, the — well, you see where this is going ...

I realize that the gross oversimplication of complex issues is something of a national pastime, along with overeating and pretending that scientific facts are up for debate ... What if his sense of what he did and its actual consequences don’t line up? ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/05/29/traitor-or-patriot-what-a-silly-question-after-inside-snowden/

[GeorgeGist]

1. Compost ...

As the link makes clear.

[m-lekktor]

2. lol yup.

good one.

[scruboak]

3. "Deep Throat" turned out to be a horrible person.

Mark Felt was one of the FBI's worst human beings, but he was also "Deep Throat," the man who brought Richard Nixon down. Get over it. Snowden's character is not at issue here. It does not matter one whit what Snowden's reasons were for doing what he did. He does not have to explain his every action at every second of every day. Doing so merely distracts from the information he revealed. If that information shows illegal actions on the part of our government, we the people are obligated to do something about it. Period.