With Thanks and Appreciation to the Whistleblowers

The Guardian, in its recent story about NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, shows that Snowden is even more fascinating than the material that he has exposed. That is, for those of us who were already aware of what's been going on so we're not so surprised by this news, while fully appreciating that it is finally being exposed.

Although Snowden refused anonymity

... he repeatedly insisted that he wants to avoid the media spotlight. "I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing."

Why did he come forward, at great potential risk to himself and his family?

"Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world," he says. "I realised that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good."

"The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to"

"There are more important things than money. If I were motivated by money, I could have sold these documents to any number of countries and gotten very rich."

Despite these fears, he remained hopeful his outing will not divert attention from the substance of his disclosures.

"I really want the focus to be on these documents and the debate which I hope this will trigger among citizens around the globe about what kind of world we want to live in."

He added: "My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."

What an amazing young man. We are fortunate to have human beings like Edward Snowden in the right places, willing to take the right risks to bring this information forward. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Snowden, Bradley Manning, and the many other known and unknown people both present and past who are and have been working to bring about a world based on truth, honesty, cooperation, and integrity.