--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In an interview on German TV, Edward J…" description: "\"“In an interview on German TV, Edward J. Snowden said that his “breaking point” was “seeing Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a0/noam-chomsky-42_breaking-point_in-an-interview-on-german-tv-edward-j-sn_2989353.jpg" --- # In an interview on German TV, Edward J. Snowden said that… ![“In an interview on German TV, Edward J. Snowden said that his “breaking point” was “seeing Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress” by denying the existence of a domestic spying program conducted by the National Security Agency. Snowden elaborated that…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a0/noam-chomsky-42_breaking-point_in-an-interview-on-german-tv-edward-j-sn_2989353.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a0/noam-chomsky-42_breaking-point_in-an-interview-on-german-tv-edward-j-sn_2989353.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a0/noam-chomsky-42_breaking-point_in-an-interview-on-german-tv-edward-j-sn_2989353.jpg) > ““In an interview on German TV, Edward J. Snowden said that his “breaking point” was “seeing Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress” by denying the existence of a domestic spying program conducted by the National Security Agency. Snowden elaborated that “the public had a right to know about these programs. The public had a right to know that which the government is doing in its name, and that which the government is doing against the public.” The”” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exposes government deception and the public’s right to transparency regarding surveillance **In simple terms:** Government lies about spying betray public trust Key Takeaway Demand accountability and protect civil liberties Themes transparency government privacy Mood critical concerned Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - journalism - legal advocacy Key Concepts surveillance democracy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance security and privacy? - What actions can you take to promote transparency? A Different Perspective Complexity of national security may justify secrecy ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agency Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency-snowden-4688956/) [Breaking point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-point/) [Domestic Spying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domestic-spying-1108101/) [Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward-snowden/) [National security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-security/) [Snowden Elaborated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowden-elaborated-4688955/) [Snowden Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowden-said-395576/) ## Related quotes > [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 'You’re going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You’re going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-m-cold-snowden-said-softly-i-m-cold-you-re-going-to-be-all-right/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-never-praised-mr-snowden-or-said-his-actions-rise-to-those-of/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“Snowden said carefully, 'I've been unable to get in touch with the person I thought might know about our mutual friend's difficulty.' The guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/snowden-said-carefully-i-ve-been-unable-to-get-in-touch-with-the/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [“If disclosing proof that top-level national security officials lied outright to Congress about domestic spying programs doesn’t make one indisputably a whistle-blower, then what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-disclosing-proof-that-top-level-national-security-officials-lied/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [President Bush and his administration have tried to pull the wool over our eyes and distract the public from this possibly illegal domestic spying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-tauscher/president-bush-and-his-administration-have-tried-to-pull-the-wool/) [Ellen Tauscher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-tauscher/) > [The 'FISA Amendments Act' would gut the oversight system established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which subjected domestic spying to review…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/the-fisa-amendments-act-would-gut-the-oversight-system-established-by/) [Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/) > [Give the FBI unchecked domestic spying powers and instead of focusing on preventing terrorism, it will revert to doing what it does best -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/give-the-fbi-unchecked-domestic-spying-powers-and-instead-of-focusing/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [My job is to be skeptical: skeptical of people like Edward Snowden and skeptical of the U.S. government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/my-job-is-to-be-skeptical-skeptical-of-people-like-edward-snowden-and/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [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/) > [Whatever you think of Edward Snowden, it took bravery to do what he did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/whatever-you-think-of-edward-snowden-it-took-bravery-to-do-what-he-did/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [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/) > [No offense to Iceland, but Latin America is where the fugitive leaker Edward Snowden should settle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/no-offense-to-iceland-but-latin-america-is-where-the-fugitive-leaker/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [ 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/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Breaking point quotes > [“Even the most loyal person had their breaking point”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vi-keeland/even-the-most-loyal-person-had-their-breaking-point/) [Vi Keeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vi-keeland/) > [“Together. The fact that one single word could send my heart aflutter was utterly ridiculous. I didn’t fall for boys I hardly knew. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-sobon/together-the-fact-that-one-single-word-could-send-my-heart-aflutter/) [Nicole Sobon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-sobon/) > [Everyone has a breaking point, turning point, stress point, the game is permeated with it. The fans don't see it because we make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/everyone-has-a-breaking-point-turning-point-stress-point-the-game-is/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [“Turns out there’s a way to give in without losing. You got to find some slack in you. Just this side of your breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wrinkle/turns-out-there-s-a-way-to-give-in-without-losing-you-got-to-find/) [Margaret Wrinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wrinkle/) > [When you conceal inner reality, this pressure builds. You often don't expose yourself until it reaches extremity, a breaking point, and what emerges is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/when-you-conceal-inner-reality-this-pressure-builds-you-often-don-t/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“Daniel. She’d been waiting twenty-two years to touch him again and she didn’t intend to stop any time soon. ‘Indeed you are. Welcome home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-james/daniel-she-d-been-waiting-twenty-two-years-to-touch-him-again-and-she/) [Maggie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-james/) > [Romantic relationships would get formed, then fall apart. Because unlike in Delhi, love was viewed differently back home in Bihar, where issues like caste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravish-kumar/romantic-relationships-would-get-formed-then-fall-apart-because/) [Ravish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravish-kumar/) > [Make your breaking point your turning point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kimbro/make-your-breaking-point-your-turning-point/) [Dennis Kimbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kimbro/) > [Endure, put up with whatever comes your way, learn to overcome weakness and pain, push yourself to breaking point but never cave in. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-nadal/endure-put-up-with-whatever-comes-your-way-learn-to-overcome-weakness/) [Toni Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-nadal/) > [For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point and does not break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-only-courage-worth-calling-courage-must-necessarily-mean-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There would seem to be a limit, even for an art preoccupied with boundaries and transgressions, beyond which a work reaches its breaking point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/there-would-seem-to-be-a-limit-even-for-an-art-preoccupied-with/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [I do not suppose that anyone not a poet can realize the agony of creating a poem. Every nerve, even every muscle, seems strained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/i-do-not-suppose-that-anyone-not-a-poet-can-realize-the-agony-of/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [Ireland really is my problem; the breaking point of the huge suppuration which all British and all European society now is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/ireland-really-is-my-problem-the-breaking-point-of-the-huge/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [You'll know when she reaches her breaking point. She'll no longer argue with you, instead she'll just give you her silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-know-when-she-reaches-her-breaking-point-she-ll-no-longer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you carry on, You won't win that fight, If you take me on, You'll find my breaking point Please don't test my (Patience)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bullet-for-my-valentines/if-you-carry-on-you-won-t-win-that-fight-if-you-take-me-on-you-ll/) [Bullet For My Valentines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bullet-for-my-valentines/) [Browse all 150 Breaking point quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-point/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In an interview on German TV, Edward J. 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