The obvious framing that eluded the myriad of supporters and writers that penned millions of words on Edward Snowden. John Lewis explains
Asked in interview with the Guardian whether Snowden was engaged in an act of civil disobedience, Lewis nodded and replied: “In keeping with the philosophy and the discipline of non-violence, in keeping with the teaching of Henry David Thoreau and people like Gandhi and others, if you believe something that is not right, something is unjust, and you are willing to defy customs, traditions, bad laws, then you have a conscience. You have a right to defy those laws and be willing to pay the price.”
“That is what we did,” he added. “I got arrested 40 times during the sixties. Since I’ve been in Congress I’ve been arrested four times. Sometimes you have to act by the dictates of your conscience. You have to do it.”
In related news, President Barack Obama displayed petulance in trying to mimic GWB’s tough guy act by cancelling his little tete-a-tete with Putin. It’s hard work to make oneself look smaller than Putin. And a hypocrite as Glenn Greenwald reminds us:
America’s refusal to extradite Bolivia’s ex-president to face genocide charges
Obama justice officials have all but granted asylum to Sánchez de Lozada – a puppet who payrolled key Democratic advisers.
[Update] John Lewis didn’t intend to praise Snowden for his act of civil disobedience. Because, oh, I don’t know … something about Snowden not marching with others, getting their heads cracked, and bodies hauled off to jail for a day or two. Guess Rep. Lewis hasn’t noticed that Bradley Manning has been locked up for years and then there’s Barrett Brown.