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
Every person remembers some moment in their life where they witnessed some injustice, big or small, and looked away because the consequences of intervening seemed too intimidating. But there's a limit to the amount of incivility and inequality and inhumanity that each individual can tolerate. I crossed that line. And I'm no longer alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of standing up against injustice, regardless of the fear of consequences.
Edward Snowden reflects on the moments when individuals choose to ignore injustices due to fear of the repercussions. He suggests that there comes a point when one can no longer tolerate inhumanity and feels a moral obligation to act, finding strength in solidarity with others who share the same conviction.
Themes
InjusticeCourageSolidarityActionMorality
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social justice, one might quote this to inspire the audience to take action against inequality.
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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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?
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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.
Edward SnowdenRead
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