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
Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The awareness of being watched influences our behavior and perception of freedom.
Edward Snowden's quote emphasizes how the act of being observed can limit our sense of freedom. It suggests that surveillance and scrutiny lead individuals to modify their actions, thereby questioning the essence of true freedom in a society where privacy is compromised.
Themes
FreedomSurveillanceBehaviorLibertyPrivacy
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on privacy rights, this quote can highlight the constraints imposed by surveillance.
More from Edward Snowden
All quotes βI 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.
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?
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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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