Letters: Edward Snowden, national hero
Re “What Snowden started,” Column, Dec. 18
Although enforcement of his decision is pending appeal, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s ruling that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records is probably unconstitutional indicates that we can be a nation ruled by law rather than by government dictates. Citizens here can take their grievance that a government spy agency violated their privacy rights to court, and justice can prevail.
Amassing information about everyone’s communications creates a potential for corruption, intimidation and general mischief from even the most stalwart of government stewards. If you need an example, consider J. Edgar Hoover. The late longtime FBI director collected files on everyone in Washington, and nearly everyone was afraid of what he could reveal.
The NSA’s files are ever so much larger, and its ability to mine databases is more powerful. Responsible, secret oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has failed.
How were the plaintiffs in this case able to verify the NSA’s abuses? Until recently, all claims of uncontrolled spying were denied. But one brave whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, revealed the NSA’s malpractice. And how has Snowden been thanked for his courage? Our government indicted him for espionage, when he should be honored as a national hero.
Without courageous individuals like Snowden, our nation of laws is at risk.
Bruce Joffe
Piedmont, Calif.
Those praising Snowden appear to have contracted an amnesia virus. They have forgotten the horror of the 9/11 attacks.
Now, high school dropout Snowden is a hero and the NSA is an enemy.
Snowden’s admirers ought to realize he gave enemies of the United States one of their biggest reasons to celebrate since they killed nearly 3,000 Americans in 2001.
One wonders if the NSA’s critics believe that in 2013 we can be protected from terrorist attacks by the lone sentry at the gate with his helmet and rifle.
Frank Ferrone
El Cajon
It is refreshing to see a federal judge have such common sense. The Chicken Little mind-set that “the terrorists are coming” has numbed us to the point that we routinely ignore what previous generations of Americans have fought and died for.
Kim Righetti
Upland
A federal judge ruled that the NSA’s systematically keeping records on nearly every phone call made in the U.S. is probably a violation of the 4th Amendment. He said:
“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection.”
The judge referred to the NSA’s secret operation as “Orwellian,” a term that describes a situation, idea or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society.
Strange, then, that whistle-blower Snowden, charged with espionage, can’t come home.
Haskell Wexler
Santa Monica
ALSO:
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
