NSA whistle-blower hero or villain? Our view

The Editorial Board | USATODAY

Here's one definition of a hero: It's someone who, given a choice between doing the right thing at great personal cost or the wrong thing for great personal benefit, chooses the former.

Think of Wesley Autrey, the remarkable fellow who leaped in front of an onrushing New York subway train in 2007 to save a stranger. Or Nelson Mandela, the now-ailing South African leader who spent 27 years in prison rather than sacrifice his commitment to set his people free.

But what of Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former intelligence worker who revealed that he is the leaker responsible for exposing the government's secret tracking of Americans' phone records? Is he a hero for protecting the public's privacy at grave risk to himself? Is he a villain who should be prosecuted for disclosing secrets to terrorists? Or, like many whistle-blowers before him, is he a complex combination of both?

Now that the National Security Agency story has a face, the answer could say a lot about how it ends — with Snowden behind bars and the government continuing its spying without restraint, or with Snowden lionized and government backing off.

If Snowden's account of his actions holds up, a big "if" considering the scrutiny that his self-unmasking ensures, he might well be a worthy successor to Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers exposing government lies about the Vietnam War.

Snowden appears to have had nothing personal to gain and a great deal to lose. He sacrificed a comfortable, upwardly mobile life, a $200,000 annual income, his family and girlfriend for a life on the lam, if not in custody.

He says he acted only after concluding that a system under which "any analyst at any time can target anyone" poses "an existential threat to democracy." And unlike others who've controversially exposed government secrets — WikiLeaks' Julian Assange and Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the latter currently on trial and facing life in prison — Snowden was at least somewhat more selective in his disclosures, and the journalists who received them.

Further, with each new disclosure, it has become increasingly obvious that the primary result of Snowden's actions is a plus. He has forced a public debate on the sweepingly invasive programs that should have taken place before they were created. If continued indefinitely, a secret government database permanently tracking the actions of every American would, indeed, pose a threat to democracy.

At the same time, Snowden's actions betray an unsettling penchant for drama. He gave himself the code name "Verax," Latin for truth-teller, and warned a Washington Post reporter that the U.S. intelligence community "will most certainly kill you" if it could block the disclosure.

Nor does the useful service of his disclosures alter the fact that Snowden appears to have broken the law and exposed information that is both deeply classified and effective in tracking terrorists. The government can't easily ignore such an offense.

Snowden says he's prepared for prosecution and, in fact, expects it. But the price of standing for principle can be tortuously high. Sometimes, it comes without any reward other than the satisfaction that comes from doing the right thing.

Snowden proclaims that's enough for him, and if that proves true, his actions might ultimately be judged heroic. But he faces many trials — literal and figurative — between now and then.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view -- a unique USA TODAY feature.

This editorial has been updated to reflect Tuesday's print publication.