I think the author makes a good point about how the media and the government manipulate the story via narrative. As far as US citizens are concerned, Snowden's story matters very little compared to the information that he revealed. It seems clear that the NSA stores vast amounts of private information about US citizens, likely indefinitely.
I grew up in the 80's. At that time, we were told that repressive regimes like the Soviet Union and East Germany spied upon their citizens. We were told that the US was different, because we valued individual liberty, and that politicians and government officials served the public, not the other way around. We were told that the limits we put on government were critical to the liberty that we enjoyed. That is a narrative that has waned. I worry that the millennial generation in the US has grown up with a new normal. In my narrative, Edward Snowden is a hero, because he exposed a machine that belongs in a State like the USSR, not the US.
- we were told that repressive regimes like the Soviet Union and East Germany spied upon their citizens. We were told that the US was different
Hypocritical considering that's when these programs started getting huge boosts to funding and massive expansions. These domestic spying programs really "came of age" during the cold war, as they used them to spy on American citizens, but at the time were mainly looking for Russian spies. This is where the capabilities like being able to log all land line phone calls, fax lines, and microwaves really came into it's prime. The program I talk about a lot, ECHELON, was pretty much made for this.
Funny the US would say that, while literally doing it at the same time. Perhaps they think their spying was more noble and needed, but none the less they were still doing it.
Also the author of that article is a local politician. If I lived just a few miles further South I would be in his district and could vote for him. Seems like a solid dude.