--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we talk about the assertion of…" description: "\"When we talk about the assertion of basically new government privileges with weak or no justification, we don't even have to look at international law ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg" --- # When we talk about the assertion of basically new… ![“When we talk about the assertion of basically new government privileges with weak or no justification, we don't even have to look at international law to see the failings in them.” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg) > “When we talk about the assertion of basically new government privileges with weak or no justification, we don't even have to look at international law to see the failings in them.” [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. New government powers lack justification and fail under international law. **In simple terms:** Unjustified government privileges are flawed. Key Takeaway Question authority and demand justification. Themes politics law rights Mood critical concerned Type political activist When to use this quote - civic activism - policy debate Key Concepts government overreach legal standards Questions to Reflect On - How to hold governments accountable? - What legal frameworks apply? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitics may complicate judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion/) [Assertion Basically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion-basically-2447113/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Privileges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-privileges-2447111/) [International](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international/) [International law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-law/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Failings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-failings-2447114/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [New government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-government/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Weak Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-justification-2447112/) ## Related quotes > [“By a constitutional policy, working after the pattern of nature, we receive, we hold, we transmit our government and our privileges, in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-a-constitutional-policy-working-after-the-pattern-of-nature-we/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“The law, for all its failings, has a noble goal - to make the little bit of life that people can actually control more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/the-law-for-all-its-failings-has-a-noble-goal-to-make-the-little-bit/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [John Kerry's newfound interest in fiscal discipline is a political gimmick that defies his 20-year record in the Senate and stands in stark contrast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-schmidt/john-kerry-s-newfound-interest-in-fiscal-discipline-is-a-political/) [Steve Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-schmidt/) > [I believe that with the help of foreign countries - and under that condition only, because they have no other source of financing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduard-shevardnadze/i-believe-that-with-the-help-of-foreign-countries-and-under-that/) [Eduard Shevardnadze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduard-shevardnadze/) > [Bilderberger Meeting: The world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/bilderberger-meeting-the-world-is-now-more-sophisticated-and-prepared/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-us-to-develop-our-plan-for-the/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [The building up of a new, far-reaching system of inspection on the question of equal pay, with power to investigate every business in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-paul/the-building-up-of-a-new-far-reaching-system-of-inspection-on-the/) [Alice Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-paul/) > [I would love to go back and help rebuild that country and help - you know, kind of like what's going on with Iraq…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-palmeiro/i-would-love-to-go-back-and-help-rebuild-that-country-and-help-you/) [Rafael Palmeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-palmeiro/) > [National Socialism will use its own revolution for establishing of a new world order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/national-socialism-will-use-its-own-revolution-for-establishing-of-a/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The one thing man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/the-one-thing-man-fears-is-the-unknown-when-presented-with-this/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [When you have a new government assume power, everyone, without exception, has to work for the benefit of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-temer/when-you-have-a-new-government-assume-power-everyone-without/) [Michel Temer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-temer/) > [The Lebanese people voted this time for change. So they are not satisfied with the actual situation. They want to see a new government.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafik-hariri/the-lebanese-people-voted-this-time-for-change-so-they-are-not/) [Rafik Hariri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafik-hariri/) > [For the system of government you fashioned including the very principles on which you based it, is increasingly obsolete, and hence increasingly, if inadvertently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/for-the-system-of-government-you-fashioned-including-the-very/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [The New World Order that is in the making must focus on the creation of a world of democracy, peace and prosperity for all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-new-world-order-that-is-in-the-making-must-focus-on-the-creation/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Each restorational advancement of the Army of the Lord has established denominational forts that are given responsibility to maintain the purity and power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hamon/each-restorational-advancement-of-the-army-of-the-lord-has/) [Bill Hamon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hamon/) ## More by Edward Snowden > [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. 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." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. It's a basic protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-need-to-think-about-encryption-not-as-this-sort-of-arcane-black/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. 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 Assertion quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) > [But innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/but-innovation-is-more-than-a-new-method-it-is-a-new-view-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-equation-maybe-if-i-knew-i-d-be/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [There needs to be a public dawning - and it is beginning to dawn on some members of the public - that how science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-needs-to-be-a-public-dawning-and-it-is-beginning-to-dawn-on/) [Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/) > [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) [Browse all 279 Assertion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we talk about the assertion of basically new government privileges with weak or no justification, we don't even have to look at international law to see the failings in them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Snowden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basically-new-government/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assertion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basically-new-government/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/edward-snowden-555_assertion_when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basi_2663428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we talk about the assertion of basically new government privileges with weak or no justification, we…” — 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": "When we talk about the assertion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basically-new-government/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-talk-about-the-assertion-of-basically-new-government/#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 } } ] } ```