Edward Snowden

The government has been operating in secret for too long, and it's time for the public to know what's going on.

I believe that the truth will set us free.

The government has a choice: it can either respect the rights of its people, or it can continue to violate them.

I'm not trying to be a martyr. I'm trying to make a difference.

The government has a duty to protect its citizens, but it also has a duty to protect their freedoms.

I don’t want to live in a world where everything I say and do is recorded.

The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight.

I don’t see myself as a hero because what I’m doing is self-interested: I don’t want to live in a world where there’s no privacy.

I am neither traitor nor hero. I’m an American.