The world needs more Edward Snowdens

We owe 30-year-old whistleblower Edward Snowden a big thank you! He risked everything to do the right thing and expose how the NSA has been indiscriminately spying on millions of people across the nation.

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During the course of his work with the US government in the military, CIA, and NSA, he became aware of government deception and its widespread surveillance programs. A firm believer in transparency and freedom, he made the decision to leak this information he had, including the NSA's collecting of millions of Verizon customers' phone records, and the ins-and-outs of the US government’s illegal PRISM spy program and XKeyscore system, as well as the tens of millions of dollars that the NSA spent to fund the UK’s intelligence agency, GCHQ.

Knowing that he would face serious retaliation that could cost him his life, Snowden left the country and spent over a month in the Moscow airport, seeking asylum from several countries and awaiting travel documents, until Thursday, August 1st, when he was granted temporary asylum in Russia.

And it's not like he had nothing to lose. Snowden left a pretty good life behind - His family, a loving girlfriend, a six-figure salary, a nice home in Hawaii. He gave it all up and has risked his freedom.

Now that the world knows about the NSA’s abuses, an entire generation of Internet users have been politicized -- and others have been given the courage to blow the whistle as well. Just yesterday, a Federal Prosecutor exposed a top secret -- and highly illegal -- DEA program that allows the NSA and other agencies to share the information they collect in their dragnets with local law enforcement (ie the cops in your town), let’s them use it to launch an investigation, and then instructs them to cover it up. Whistleblowers like Snowden must be supported and treated like the heros they are. The government is trying to scare others from making the brave stands that Edward Snowden made. They are trying to label him as a traitor, saying that he aided and abetted the enemy. But really, what he did was stand up for us when the government was betraying us - the people. We need more Edward Snowdens. We need to make it clear that we will be there to voice our support for those who expose illegal government activity.

Edward Snowden, we thank you!