I just finished reading Edward Snowden's book Permanent Record (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2019). Until recently, I had a negative opinion of Snowden, but now I realize that it was unfounded. Based on what I had heard and read, I thought he hated his country and its people and released classified material in order to damage them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Snowden is a patriot in the best sense of the word. He loves his country and its people; he loves them so much that he sacrificed almost everything he had in order to draw attention to the incipient totalitarianism of our government.
I have also recently watched the movie Snowden (2016) and the documentary Citizenfour (2014). I highly recommend the book and the movies. You may have been laboring under as many misconceptions as I was. In case you're wondering why I revisited Snowden, it's because of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who was involved with Snowden in releasing documents. Greenwald is one of the best journalists in the world. You can find his articles on Substack.
