High profile leaker on the run != 99.99...% of U.S. Citizens. |
I would classify Snowden as an activist. Though I agree that comparisons to the KGB are absurd.
Privacy was never promised under the constitution and is not considered a protected right. |
You're right that it isn't in the Constitution (at least not that I'm aware of), though the founding fathers generally spoke out against the SOP of modern governmental institutions like the NSA.
Ben Franklin in particular had a famous quote: 'Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.'
And of course Patrick Henry: 'Give me liberty or give me death' -- which is not to be confused with the modern practice of "give me the closest thing to liberty as long as I don't have to worry about dying at the hands of terrorists".
People should be a lot more outraged by this than they are. You should not be rationalizing what the NSA is doing and trying to convince yourself it really is in our own best interest.
This wouldn't be the first time privacy/human rights were limited in circumstances deemed "extreme". The biggest thing that comes to mind would be the interment of Japanese Americans during World War 2. |
And history has shown us that was a horrible mistake.
Are we going to repeat that mistake now, only to realize it 30 years from now?
But you're right... scare tactics have routinely been used by the government to restrict personal freedom throughout history.
That's the point. They should
never be doing that. It's wrong. That's why we should be outraged.
The WW1 thing is an equally detestable example.
Not necessarily, you can narrow down suspicious communication quite easily with racial profiling and other side channel techniques |
Did you really just use racial profiling as a viable anti-terrorism measure?
You must be white. It's really easy to defend racial profiling when you've never been a victim of it.
Also note that most of the acts of terrorism over recent history have been perpetrated by white people (Boston bombing, <insert school shooting here>). 9/11 was like the exception... yet everyone is still shaking in their boots about it.
Don't quote me on this, but I think he was a source for Wiki Leaks |
Pretty cruel of you to condemn a man for something you're not sure he did.
If you have a source for that, I'd love to see it. (no sarcasm, I'm always interested in learning more facts about the situation). If not, I'd urge you to re-evaluate where you're getting your information from.
Word-of-mouth and Fox News are not credible sources.