Securing Our Liberty: the Case of Edward Snowden

The article titled "Securing Our Liberty" in the CSU online library gives insights on what transpired right after Edward Snowden, an NSA contractor, went rogue and leaked Federal government information. A lot of moral and ethical questions arose regarding whether he should have revealed the information or whether he ought to have kept it under wraps (Lucas, 2014).

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Supposing that the NSA is an organization that has Snowden as manager, revealing confidential information in that fashion to the public would be unbefitting; that would be similar to breaching a confidentiality agreement. In essence, what Edward Snowden did, copying and leaking of classified data from the NSA minus any prior authorization or express permission were detrimental.

Impact to U.S Government

The decision by Edward Snowden to leak confidential information of the United States government painted the NSA and the CIA badly in the eyes of the U.S. public and the world at large. This is also with consideration to the fact that around that time the German Chancellor Angela Merkel found out that the U.S. government was spying on her, the NSA had tapped all her phone calls; something that Merkel complained to Mr. Barrack Obama about.

Impact to U.S. Citizens

People in the U.S. became very uncomfortable with what the government is doing since the government surveillance programs tapped the phone calls of everyone; both at home and abroad. With such a revelation, the liberty that the government claims to stand for was compromised. Nobody trusted the government knowing that there is no privacy when it comes to emails, text messages, or phone calls.

Impact to Snowden

The revealing of government information had an impact to Edward Snowden; he was deemed a criminal the moment he breached his confidentiality agreement with his employer, the NSA. He knew that he had to leave the United States, and at that moment his criminal status was at large. Rumor has it that he sought temporary asylum in Russia. Edward Snowden's predicament did not allow him to reside in the United States; he was bound to remain a fugitive for a very long time because the moment he would be spotted on U.S. soil, he will be imprisoned.

A Question of Ethics

With consideration to ethics, perhaps Edward Joseph Snowden felt that it was wrong for people to be under surveillance; for them to be watched unawares. Everyone has a right to privacy and thus it was most likely that Edward was not comfortable that the United States was violating that same privacy with him being their accomplice.

The Greater Good

The greater good is a perception that resonates across the U.S. government as an entity and those upon whom it is spying. The United States government vies the greater good as the world that is peaceful and an America that is devoid of terror threats. For this cause, the government will sacrifice and do the despicable i.e. spy on its neighbors and its citizens. On the other hand, Snowden and his supporters view the greater good as a right to privacy, and for this reason, Snowden sacrificed his liberty.

Lessons Learned

From this incident, we can learn that it is important to consider the aftermath of all decisions one makes as a leader or manager. Perhaps Snowden did not foresee himself seeking asylum in Russia. At the moment there is no information as to whether he has the freedom even to associate with his family members or even talk to them. It is important to gather all facts before making a decision; this is because some actions may affect us and make us perceive certain institutions negatively.

Summary

A lot of media houses and newspapers all over the world covered the Snowden story. Some hailed him for his courage while some despised him. The asylum in and of itself is punishment enough because wherever he, Snowden, is not free. On the flip side Edward Snowden is a hero, he chose to reveal the truth.