--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is important to note that Edward…" description: "\"It is important to note that Edward Snowden was labeled as a spy not a whistle-blower - even though he exposed the reach of the spy services into the l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/henry-giroux-945_authority_it-is-important-to-note-that-edward-snow_1891905.png" --- # It is important to note that Edward Snowden was labeled as… ![“It is important to note that Edward Snowden was labeled as a spy not a whistle-blower - even though he exposed the reach of the spy services into the lives of most Americans. More importantly, he was denounced as being part of a generation that unfortunately combined being educated with a distrust…” quote by Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/henry-giroux-945_authority_it-is-important-to-note-that-edward-snow_1891905.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/henry-giroux-945_authority_it-is-important-to-note-that-edward-snow_1891905.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/henry-giroux-945_authority_it-is-important-to-note-that-edward-snow_1891905.png) > “It is important to note that Edward Snowden was labeled as a spy not a whistle-blower - even though he exposed the reach of the spy services into the lives of most Americans. More importantly, he was denounced as being part of a generation that unfortunately combined being educated with a distrust of authority.” [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## 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 critiques how whistle‑blowers like Snowden are framed as threats, reflecting societal distrust of authority despite educated critique. **In simple terms:** Society often labels truth‑tellers as dangerous. Key Takeaway Question narratives about authority and truth. Themes media politics trust whistleblowing Mood critical skeptical Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - government transparency - journalism - academic discourse - activism Key Concepts power dynamics public perception Questions to Reflect On - What incentives exist for protecting whistle‑blowers? - How does education influence distrust? A Different Perspective Labeling can silence legitimate critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy/) ## Related quotes > [Edward Snowden's real "crime" is that he demonstrated how knowledge can be used to empower people, to get them to think as critically engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/edward-snowden-s-real-crime-is-that-he-demonstrated-how-knowledge-can/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What many commentators have missed in the ongoing attack on Edward Snowden is not that he uncovered information that made clear how corrupt and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-many-commentators-have-missed-in-the-ongoing-attack-on-edward/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The government now requisitions the publics' telephone records and sifts through its emails. It labels whistle-blowers such as Edward Snowden as traitors, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-government-now-requisitions-the-publics-telephone-records-and/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [ The situation they \[journalists and Edward Snowden\] were in was incredibly heightened. The stakes were high. There was a lot of pressure, a lot… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/the-situation-they-journalists-and-edward-snowden-were-in-was/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [ It's not exactly an interview that's going on \[in documentary\]. I guess we do ask Edward Snowden some questions and we're recording him answering… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/it-s-not-exactly-an-interview-that-s-going-on-in-documentary-i-guess/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material, and that definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/in-my-estimation-there-has-not-been-in-american-history-a-more/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [I was really not familiar at all with Edward Snowden. I like to get that right out of the way and really learned most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-was-really-not-familiar-at-all-with-edward-snowden-i-like-to-get/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [ \[Edward Snowden and his team\] they're great characters. They're fascinating people. They were in an extraordinary situation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/edward-snowden-and-his-team-they-re-great-characters-they-re/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [There's a lot of important issues being brought to the world about America's role in proliferating weapons, about the lack of responsibility of anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-lawson/there-s-a-lot-of-important-issues-being-brought-to-the-world-about/) [Guy Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-lawson/) > [Edward Snowden has inspired changes and awareness, which is very important in this day and age, and sometimes egos need to be set aside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birgitta-jonsdottir/edward-snowden-has-inspired-changes-and-awareness-which-is-very/) [Birgitta Jonsdottir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birgitta-jonsdottir/) > [Patriots don't go to Russia. They don't seek asylum in Cuba. They don't seek asylum in Venezuela. They fight their cause here. Edward Snowden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/patriots-don-t-go-to-russia-they-don-t-seek-asylum-in-cuba-they-don-t/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [It certainly woke me up to how vulnerable we all are. I think I was much more cavalier about it before I started working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/it-certainly-woke-me-up-to-how-vulnerable-we-all-are-i-think-i-was/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [ The \[Edward\] Snowden disclosures created this perception that people's privacy was being put at significant risk. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morell/the-edward-snowden-disclosures-created-this-perception-that-people-s/) [Michael Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morell/) > [I am incrementally a pessimist, but I see the international debate that Edward Snowden has engendered, and I think this is exactly where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-am-incrementally-a-pessimist-but-i-see-the-international-debate/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [Despite Russia's move to raise interest rates this week, the value of the ruble has continued to crash. Russia's economy is so bad, Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/despite-russia-s-move-to-raise-interest-rates-this-week-the-value-of/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) ## More by Henry Giroux > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As politics is disconnected from its ethical and material moorings, it becomes easier to punish and imprison young people than to educate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-politics-is-disconnected-from-its-ethical-and-material-moorings-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What must be addressed in the most immediate sense is the threat that the emerging police state in the United States poses not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-must-be-addressed-in-the-most-immediate-sense-is-the-threat-that/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Today's neoliberalism has a number of byproducts. We have massive forms of inequality developing because there are no longer any concessions. There's a war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/today-s-neoliberalism-has-a-number-of-byproducts-we-have-massive/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [At the start of the second decade of the 21st century, young people all over the world are demonstrating against a variety of issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/at-the-start-of-the-second-decade-of-the-21st-century-young-people/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [America is at war with itself because it's basically declared war not only on any sense of democratic idealism, but it's declared war on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-is-at-war-with-itself-because-it-s-basically-declared-war-not/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [All too often the worst thing that can happen to the young is to depoliticize them. When that happens, not only are young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/all-too-often-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-the-young-is-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The generation of youth in the early 21st century has no way of grasping if they will ever be free from the gnawing sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-generation-of-youth-in-the-early-21st-century-has-no-way-of/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [History remains an open horizon that cannot be dismissed through appeals to the end of history or end of ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/history-remains-an-open-horizon-that-cannot-be-dismissed-through/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I mean, we're not talking about simply racism, we're taking about white supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/i-mean-we-re-not-talking-about-simply-racism-we-re-taking-about-white/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Historical memory is a potent weapon in fighting against the desert of organized forgetting and implies a rethinking of the role that artists, intellectuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/historical-memory-is-a-potent-weapon-in-fighting-against-the-desert/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The fight for education and justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic equality, human dignity and security, and the challenge of developing American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-fight-for-education-and-justice-is-inseparable-from-the-struggle/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If the ongoing struggles waged by young people are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-ongoing-struggles-waged-by-young-people-are-to-matter/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many conservatives see higher education as a threat to their reactionary and corporate oriented interests and would like to defund higher education, privatize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-conservatives-see-higher-education-as-a-threat-to-their/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Everyone is now a customer or client, and every relationship is ultimately judged in bottom-line, cost-effective terms. Freedom is no longer about equality, social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/everyone-is-now-a-customer-or-client-and-every-relationship-is/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) [Explore all 323 Henry Giroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“I'm of the age and immaturity level that I cannot give you my respect solely because you are older or ranked higher on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/i-m-of-the-age-and-immaturity-level-that-i-cannot-give-you-my-respect/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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