I put Snowden in the same category as Walker. Motives mean nothing to me when it comes to revealing intel that gives aid and comfort to the enemies of our country - which both did. One can argue the "ethics" of their motives all day long, but in the end, both were/are traitors.[url=http://meincmagazine.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=27492529#p27492529:2h1bcdmn said:
The nuance with regard to Snowden about the "potential for totalitarianism" is that EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH HAS ALWAYS HAD THE POTENTIAL to be totalitarian. Being "watched" by the state in our day to day lives is a long, long way from being manipulated, coerced and/or punished due to that state watching (which is the act of totalitarianism). Potential is to actual as fantasy is to reality. We elect our representatives, who enacted these programs, so the fault, if one must place blame, is on US for failing to be clear when we shouted "KEEP US SAFE!" after 9/11 when these programs were expanded. But remember, these programs have been around in various forms since REAGAN.
I'll agree that the programs could have been run "better" (Though, under the circumstances, I defy ANYONE to detail specifically how). But the hysterical reaction on the part of the socially unaware who seemed surprised by all of this (despite the fact it's ALL been in the news since 1981 and I knew all about it from that ALONE long before Snowden's treasonous acts) was both unwarranted and hyperbolic. From an objective point of view, no one who didn't DESERVE to be harmed was harmed - until Snowden's revelations upset the terminally paranoid among us. In all honesty, I still can't understand why people were surprised by it or, more importantly, why they're blaming "the government" over it (as if our elected government is separate from the people). WE VOTED FOR THE GOVERNMENTS THAT DID THIS!
Walker deserves to be shot for what he did. Snowden hasn't been tried and found guilty of anything in a court of law, and so his punishment is moot until then. But given his confessions and constant releases of information (which very likely led to emboldening Russia, in the face of an internationally embarrassed, and intelligence-gathering compromised U.S., to annex the Crimea and invade the Ukraine), I'll volunteer for the firing squad once the guilty verdict is handed down.
Vote me down if you will, I don't give a shit about ball-less wonders who are more worried about their sheep fetish being revealed to the government (who will do nothing about it) than about the security of their country. Just don't come crying to me when the next terrorist attack in the U.S. kills thousands because Snowden revealed how the U.S. gets intel on the bad guys and the came up with a way around it. I'd say the Ukrainians are already regretting it.
Edit: Fixed URL
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