It's important that we elevate and primarily focus on the rights of American citizens, but it's also important that we don't forget, 95 percent of the world's population lives beyond our own borders.
Edward SnowdenRead
Congress hasn't declared war on the countries - the majority of them are our allies - but without asking for public permission, NSA is running network operations against them that affect millions of innocent people. And for what? So we can have secret access to a computer in a country we're not even fighting?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote criticizes government surveillance actions conducted without public approval, affecting innocent people.
Edward Snowden raises concerns about the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance activities that target countries which are generally considered allies of the United States. He questions the ethics and motives behind such operations, emphasizing that they invade the privacy of millions of innocent people who are not involved in any conflict, suggesting that the government's quest for intelligence supersedes moral considerations and public accountability.
Themes
SurveillancePrivacyGovernmentEthicsPublic OpinionAccountability
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about civil liberties, this quote could be used to highlight the importance of public consent in government actions.
More from Edward Snowden
All quotes →I think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal.
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A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all.
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Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him... the better off we all are.
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I don't see myself as a hero because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.
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I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can't allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. I'm not going to be part of that.
Edward SnowdenRead
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