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Edward Snowden: 'The People Are Still Powerless, But Now They're Aware' (theguardian.com)
Edward Snowden has no regrets
five years on from leaking the biggest cache of top-secret documents in history. He is wanted by the US. He is in exile in Russia. But he is satisfied with the way his revelations of mass surveillance have rocked governments, intelligence agencies and major internet companies. From a report Snowden, weighing up the changes, said some privacy campaigners had expressed disappointment with how things have developed, but he did not share it. "People say nothing has changed: that there is still mass surveillance. That is not how you measure change. Look back before 2013 and look at what has happened since. Everything changed."
The most important change, he said, was public awareness. "The government and corporate sector preyed on our ignorance. But now we know. People are aware now. People are still powerless to stop it but we are trying. The revelations made the fight more even."
The most important change, he said, was public awareness. "The government and corporate sector preyed on our ignorance. But now we know. People are aware now. People are still powerless to stop it but we are trying. The revelations made the fight more even."
It's just being practical. Name any developed country that 1) isn't spying on its citizens and 2) wouldn't cave to US pressure to hand Snowden over. The second consideration outweighs the first when it's your own life on the line.
A more accurate way of putting that is that the US is so full of shit that he had to turn to Russia, of all places, for his own safety. Instead of trying to fix the problem, the US government decided to try to shoot the messenger who uncovered their criminal activity (and yes, until the Fourth Amendment is officially repealed instead of just blatantly disregarded, spying on citizens is still criminal).
Well, the only thing that could happen happened: a change of government. But probably this had little impact.
It's really a failing of (US) democracy that all possible society issues are funneled through only two choices that offer 90% the same thing. Personally, I'm a proponent of the smallest possible federal government, not because I'm into small government but because there's no democracy at the federal level. Another solution would be to elect the secretaries individually.
"An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law." - Martin Luther King Jr.