Edward Snowden’s Label as “Traitor”, Essay Example

Based on the information presented in the article, I have mixed feeling about Edward Snowden’s label as “traitor”. It is evident that he accessed sensitive government documents and made this information available to the public. It is expected that those with access to this information are expected to keep it secret in order to protect national security. During times of war, it is important to keep government information secretive to prevent other countries from using this information against us. Therefore, it is apparent that Edward Snowden’s actions are in direct violation of U.S. law. On the other hand, it also appears that the actions taken by the U.S. government with regards to its phone tapping record are a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Ultimately, by conducting these phone taps, the government is removing the right to privacy of its citizens. This form of monitoring is reflective of techniques that may be used in communist countries and thus is opposite of what Americans would expect to be taking place. This issue indicates that there is a greater need for oversight in the government and Edward Snowden did the country a favor by indicating this to us. On the other hand, it appears that some situations, such as war time, would allow these actions to be excusable under the direction of the commander in chief. However, extreme war conditions were not in place during the time in which the phone taps were initiated. Thus, Snowden should be permitted to return to the U.S. without being found guilty of treason. While this situation made the government appear irresponsible, it didn’t do any harm to compromise the national security of the nation in the long run. Since significant negative effects were not experienced as a consequence, of this action, Snowden should be removed from the watch list and be allowed to return home.