Hero, Traitor, Whistleblower, or Felon? It Doesn't Really Matter in the Bigger Picture

I started this post a while back and let it simmer at the back burner... I've always been a reasonably law and order kind've guy who realizes we're a big country with porous borders and the world's dynamics have been dramatically changing since World War II.

Not all that long ago, I would've quickly called Edward Snowden an absolute traitor (I still can't wait to find out that Bradley Manning will rot in a deep, dark hole somewhere):

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: “I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions,” but “I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.”

Nowadays—especially, in light of everything else that's been recently coming to light—I'm not so sure.

Or, so I was thinking (for a bit) until more information about brave [snark] Mr. Snowden began to come to light. Professor Jacobson & Company, over at Legal Insurrection, have done a great job of compiling thoughts and information on him.

I sure as hell don't see him as any hero. Whistleblower? No. Traitor? No. Felon? Maybe. Putz? Definitely.

Add to that an unfortunately useful tool whose drama may all too well draw attention away from what really and truly matters.And, that is the scope of potential surveillance our government has placed upon us under the guise of "protecting" us.

As demonstrated by the implications of the recently-revealed IRS Scandals, it's the "potential" that should have us all worried as once a potential is realized to a bureaucracy, it becomes a given that it will be abused at one point or another. Add to that the scope of how this surveillance can intrude and disrupt every aspect of our lives and we have really placed that proverbial bridge across the Rubicon and it will only become a matter of time before it is crossed. The questions truly become:

When?
How far?
And how destructively?

It doesn't matter that it may have started under Dubya's administration. It was started and—most importantly—it is now being perpetuated by a current administration that has shown no true regard for the laws of this republic.