--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should stop thinking of Snowden, to…" description: "\"We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. We should stop thinking of him as a whistleblower.\" — Benjamin Wittes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/benjamin-wittes-9097_edward_we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-th_665300.jpg" --- # We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we… ![“We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. We should stop thinking of him as a whistleblower.” quote by Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/benjamin-wittes-9097_edward_we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-th_665300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/benjamin-wittes-9097_edward_we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-th_665300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/benjamin-wittes-9097_edward_we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-th_665300.jpg) > “We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. We should stop thinking of him as a whistleblower.” [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges moving beyond simplistic hero/whistleblower labels for Snowden, recognizing the complexity of his actions. **In simple terms:** Stop seeing Snowden as just a hero or whistleblower. Key Takeaway Embrace nuanced views of controversial figures. Themes ethics politics media privacy national security Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - policy debate - academic discussion - media analysis Key Concepts whistleblowing public perception legal ramifications Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect public judgment? - What responsibilities do we have when evaluating whistleblowers? A Different Perspective Labels can oversimplify and hinder critical assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/him/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Snowden Extent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowden-extent-5293252/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-thinking/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-snowden-5293250/) [Thinking Whistleblower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-whistleblower-5293251/) [Whistleblower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whistleblower/) ## Related quotes > [“Rahul Sagar, a professor at Princeton, has defined these well in his new book Secrets and Leaks:73 First, a whistleblower must have clear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/rahul-sagar-a-professor-at-princeton-has-defined-these-well-in-his/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [Speaking out against social media giants like Facebook is intimidating, particularly when I come forward as a whistleblower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/speaking-out-against-social-media-giants-like-facebook-is/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [First of all, I never set out to be a whistleblower. Secondly, I never expected that my story would be interesting to anybody. Third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-gun/first-of-all-i-never-set-out-to-be-a-whistleblower-secondly-i-never/) [Katharine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-gun/) > [It's important that people see that you can be a whistleblower and you can be different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/it-s-important-that-people-see-that-you-can-be-a-whistleblower-and/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [The question of whether I, as a whistleblower, should be pardoned, is not for me to answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-question-of-whether-i-as-a-whistleblower-should-be-pardoned-is/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give to an American.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/being-called-a-traitor-by-dick-cheney-is-the-highest-honor-you-can/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [There is not adequate whistleblower protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/there-is-not-adequate-whistleblower-protection/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [“I'm worried that the government might kill Edward Snowden with a drone. --Ron Paul”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-m-worried-that-the-government-might-kill-edward-snowden-with-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [ “I was right outside the NSA \[on 9/11\], so I remember the tension on that day. I remember hearing on the radio, 'the plane's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-was-right-outside-the-nsa-on-9-11-so-i-remember-the-tension-on-that/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [That's a problem. I mean, like any sort of growing startup organization, we are sort of overwhelmed by our growth. And that means we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/that-s-a-problem-i-mean-like-any-sort-of-growing-startup-organization/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [As for labeling someone a whistleblower, I think it does them - it does all of us - a disservice, because it "otherizes" us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-for-labeling-someone-a-whistleblower-i-think-it-does-them-it-does/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Group minds are a result of collective discussion and working out of a consensus, which can be listened to (unlike an unreadable mind). Arriving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-turchin/group-minds-are-a-result-of-collective-discussion-and-working-out-of/) [Peter Turchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-turchin/) > [You will be a far more effective whistleblower if you operate within a legal framework.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/you-will-be-a-far-more-effective-whistleblower-if-you-operate-within/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [The thing that I realized in my journey as a whistleblower... is that the reaction that I got from a lot of law enforcement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/the-thing-that-i-realized-in-my-journey-as-a-whistleblower-is-that/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [“Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is largely an interrogation agency for whistle-blowers that extracts their full range of knowledge without upholding their legal rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/occupational-safety-health-administration-osha-is-largely-an/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Benjamin Wittes > [Reasonable people can disagree about the authorities the NSA should have, when it's appropriate for the CIA to use drone strikes, and how assertive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/reasonable-people-can-disagree-about-the-authorities-the-nsa-should/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm a rationalist and a skeptic, someone who safely separates faith from reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-a-rationalist-and-a-skeptic-someone-who-safely-separates-faith/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. That's why I might be more alarmed by Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-an-unabashed-apologist-for-strong-national-security-authority/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [If you believe, as I do, that the scope and range of presidential authority is great, that puts a lot of weight on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-you-believe-as-i-do-that-the-scope-and-range-of-presidential/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [In any long string of letters, one can find countless anomalies that will seem like convincing proofs of hidden meaning to the mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/in-any-long-string-of-letters-one-can-find-countless-anomalies-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [To get a FISA warrant to spy on a suspected spy, the feds go before a super-secret court located in a sealed room in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/to-get-a-fisa-warrant-to-spy-on-a-suspected-spy-the-feds-go-before-a/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [One effect of Roe was to mobilize a permanent constituency for criminalizing abortion - a constituency that has driven much of the southern realignment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/one-effect-of-roe-was-to-mobilize-a-permanent-constituency-for/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [There is no doubt in my mind that Article II limits to a considerable degree the application of the obstruction statutes to the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-article-ii-limits-to-a-considerable/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It might seem perverse for honestly religious people to group their faiths with those of the sadists and megalomaniacs who run most cults, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-might-seem-perverse-for-honestly-religious-people-to-group-their/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Eric Holder is a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/eric-holder-is-a-decent-man/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Al-Qaida is a cult of martyrdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/al-qaida-is-a-cult-of-martyrdom/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I generally favor permissive abortion laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-generally-favor-permissive-abortion-laws/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [While I oppose the death penalty as a policy matter, in a legal culture in which we reserve the right to execute people for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/while-i-oppose-the-death-penalty-as-a-policy-matter-in-a-legal/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It used to be that what was going to be written on my tombstone was 'Benjamin Wittes, former 'Washington Post' editorial writer,' or 'Benjamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-used-to-be-that-what-was-going-to-be-written-on-my-tombstone-was/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) [Explore all 75 Benjamin Wittes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## More Edward quotes > [“Edward: I don't know whether to put my fingers in my ears and go la-la-la or find more of your guards so we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/edward-i-don-t-know-whether-to-put-my-fingers-in-my-ears-and-go-la-la/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-wondered-to-myself-why-no-one-else-had-seen-him-standing-so-far/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“More importantly in my view, the Obama administration has treated whistleblowers with scandalous harshness, especially those from inside the intelligence community. The hardest point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/more-importantly-in-my-view-the-obama-administration-has-treated/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [“Where are we going?” she asked. “Mr. Durbin’s sheep have begun to lamb, and I wanted to see how the ewes are doing.” He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/where-are-we-going-she-asked-mr-durbin-s-sheep-have-begun-to-lamb-and/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [I've never met Snowden, I've never spoken with him personally. I mean, he's extremely smart. Very, very smart. I guess he was a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-gun/i-ve-never-met-snowden-i-ve-never-spoken-with-him-personally-i-mean/) [Katharine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-gun/) > [It's a problem for him because he's got - like Edward VII had - nearly all his lifetime to wait until he becomes Monarch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/it-s-a-problem-for-him-because-he-s-got-like-edward-vii-had-nearly/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [“The single biggest lesson of the whole Snowden fiasco is that America's own sloppiness made it vulnerable: whether to misguided whistleblowers, saboteurs or foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/the-single-biggest-lesson-of-the-whole-snowden-fiasco-is-that-america/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [“The cliché that “everything leaks; it all comes out in the New York Times eventually” is emphatically not true, above all for sensitive compartmented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-clich-that-everything-leaks-it-all-comes-out-in-the-new-york/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“The way everyone looked at me made me uncomfortable. Even Edward. It was like I had grown a hundred feet during the course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/the-way-everyone-looked-at-me-made-me-uncomfortable-even-edward-it/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [“As an American historian, I am required to keep an accurate and truthful historical record.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/as-an-american-historian-i-am-required-to-keep-an-accurate-and/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-tensed-for-the-spring-my-eyes-squinting-as-i-cringed-away-and-the/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [ Odd as this might sound, I suppose I’m glad you’re here, Jacob. \[Edward Cullen\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/odd-as-this-might-sound-i-suppose-i-m-glad-you-re-here-jacob-edward/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Snowden is an orderly thinker, with an engineer's approach to problem-solving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/snowden-is-an-orderly-thinker-with-an-engineer-s-approach-to-problem/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I think that Mr. Snowden raised some legitimate concerns. How he did it was something that did not follow the procedures and practices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-that-mr-snowden-raised-some-legitimate-concerns-how-he-did-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 310 Edward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. 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