--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is right is not always the same as…" description: "\"What is right is not always the same as what is legal\" — Edward Snowden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg" --- # What is right is not always the same as what is legal ![“What is right is not always the same as what is legal” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg) > “What is right is not always the same as what is legal” [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal rules and moral principles often diverge; legality does not guarantee righteousness. **In simple terms:** Legal ≠ moral. Key Takeaway Question laws critically. Themes ethics law justice Mood provocative ethical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - activism - judicial decisions Key Concepts philosophy civil rights Questions to Reflect On - When have you followed an unjust law? - How can societies align law with ethics? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex legal contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Legal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right Legal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-legal-3046115/) ## Related quotes > [There have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. 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Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [It always rankled me - in law school and the legal profession - when lawyers would speak to each other in their own exclusive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/it-always-rankled-me-in-law-school-and-the-legal-profession-when/) [Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/) > [“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/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. 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It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obama-became-president-it-was-a/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I care more about the country than what happens to me. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The NSA and Israel wrote Stuxnet together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-nsa-and-israel-wrote-stuxnet-together/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-a-general-rule-so-long-as-you-have-any-choice-at-all-you-should/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." 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But I believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/a-lot-of-people-in-2008-voted-for-obama-i-did-not-vote-for-him-i/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ There was a real choice when \[Barack Obama\] became president. It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obama-became-president-it-was-a/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's much easier, I think, to protect communications while they're in transit at least, than it is to enforce legislation in every country in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-s-much-easier-i-think-to-protect-communications-while-they-re-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can't allow the law to become a political weapon or agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-care-more-about-the-country-than-what-happens-to-me-but-we-can-t/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) [Explore all 478 Edward Snowden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More Funny quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) [Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is right is not always the same as what is legal", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as-what-is-legal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Funny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as-what-is-legal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/edward-snowden-555_funny_what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as_1441223.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is right is not always the same as what is legal” — Edward Snowden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Snowden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is right is not always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as-what-is-legal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/what-is-right-is-not-always-the-same-as-what-is-legal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```