Edward Snowden should be classified as an American Whistle Blower and treated in a manner reflecting this description.

Ed Snowden's selfless act, of informing the American people and the world of the over-reach of the NSA under the Bush and Obama Administrations, should be celebrated; not demonized. He's a Whistleblower and should be protected under those provisions. He did not threaten national security nor did he implicate his colleagues in the NSA. He most certainly did not sell classified secrets nor did he interact with foreign governments. He simply felt an obligation to inform the world of an unprecedented intrusion of our rights to privacy. Since 911 and the desecration of the Privacy Act, our government behaves as if it were the God of American citizen's privacy. This young man represents military and government employees who are terrified to speak out due to toxic-institutional Groupthink.