This is a bit much, in my view:
In "A Manifesto for the Truth" published in German news magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday, Snowden said current debates about mass surveillance in many countries showed his revelations were helping to bring about change.
"Instead of causing damage, the usefulness of the new public knowledge for society is now clear because reforms to politics, supervision and laws are being suggested," the 30-year-old ex-CIA employee and NSA contractor wrote.
It is possible that Snowden's revelations about domestic surveillance will help us stop (or prevent) abuses against Americans at home. I'm not worked up about gathering meta-data on phone calls, although I'm happy enough to revisit the question of whether technology has made it necessary to put more limits on gathering, storing, and using that information.
He can puff up his actions as one of a truth-telling citizen of the world if that is what he needs to sleep at night.
But if Snowden was really intent on helping America, why did he release it the way he did abroad to those who dislike us? Fleeing to Communist China and then hiding in Putin's Russia isn't exacly the ACLU seal of approval, is it?
Spying on our allies is part of the normal actions of espionage in the world. That's completely separate from whether NSA went out of its lane domestically. If Snowden wanted to help America, he'd have revealed what he knows in a much different manner.
Although he may yet deserve a Hero of the
