On Snowden and the NSA

I do not think that ‘freedom and privacy’ necessarily trump ‘safety and security’ as a higher political virtue. And the NSA’s practices might very well have halted some attacks on US soil: that’s what the NSA has reported, and the rest of us can merely speculate. But IF you choose freedom and privacy over safety and security, then it seems you ought to hail Snowden as a role-model and hero. But IF you choose safety and security as the higher virtue, you probably ought to condemn him. For my part, if we have to choose (and it seems we must prioritize here) I’d rather live in a free and just society over one that is simply secure and stable, bumps and bruises and all.

I doubt many politicians will present that dichotomy, but the NSA and the Obama administration have apparently chosen safety and security over freedom and privacy. The most morally objectionable thing isn’t the act, but the lie.