Arena of Death

As a Federal Judge declared NSA spying legal and necessary to the security of the Nation ,Edward Snowden was giving a Christmas broadcast from overseas , reminding Americans that the privacy and security of all American citizens was being threatened by this very same NSA. Is NSA leaker Edward Snowden a patriotic hero ? No, but, perhaps, he could have been . Here's the bottom line; Edward Snowden is a government contractor , who took an oath to protect the security of the classified documents he was exposed to .Not only did Snowden break that oath, but he then took asylum in both China and Russia, thereby giving our political enemies access to our nation's most guarded secrets . This cannot happen. There are communist nations that America must always maintain an intelligence advantage over .The oath Snowden took serves the purpose of protecting that advantage , and preventing these communist nations from spreading their tyranny around the globe. The United States , as the leader of the free world , must always be one step ahead of the oppressive tyrants , lest the world be plunged into chaos and darkness. The main weapon we possess , in this fight for global freedom, is our covert intelligence operations . It's the weapon that enables us to win wars . Its the weapon that enabled us to defeat the Axis powers and win WWII. If that weapon can no longer function , because of so called inside leakers , then the security of our nation becomes severely compromised , and the security of the world as well.
If Edward Snowden truly believed that our Constitution was being violated by the actions of the NSA, and American citizens rights were being violated, then , he has a duty , and an obligation , as an American citizen, to come forward and expose this corruption . But, you do it the right way. You don't flee the country ,and  provide classified computer files to both the Russians and the Chinese. That is not an act of Patriotism. That is an act of  treason. Many would argue that our Founding Fathers did the same thing and were branded traitors by England as a result. But , the founders did not flee England to betray the Crown, but to expand  freedom and to create a new system of government, where the people would rule themselves in a brave, new land. A radical concept, and , if achieved , a unique one,in all the world. Yet, it was done and has made us the greatest nation in the history of the world.
Once it had become apparent that war with England , because of excessive taxation , became inevitable, the Founding Fathers did indeed, break from England , and did indeed, become traitors to the Crown. But, unlike Snowden, they did not flee America, to hide in other lands . There was no need . They understood there was nowhere to go . They were already in the land where freedom and liberty were most possible . All it would take is the will to stand their ground and oppose the oppressor , no matter what the cost, or sacrifice.
The colonists understood that, America was their last stand, the ground they must make their fight on, the land that they must defend against all enemies ,or they would lose everything. Indeed, they were traitors like Snowden, all of them. They were willing to risk all to oppose the tyranny of England , but, unlike Snowden, they stood their ground, and defended this new found Nation, America, against the Nation that claimed this land as its own ;..England.
Our military takes an oath to defend our nation against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. But, this is an oath that all Americans should take as well . For , if the citizens who rule are unwilling to defend their freedom , and their land , against these enemies, ...then there is no freedom. You cannot expose a threat to our nation freedom by retreating to nations where there is no freedom ,..and there never will be. We have Republican Congressman and Senators who expose the corruption of the Obama Administration everyday, and they do it here , in Washington , in the People's House, which is the engine , the symbol, of our  freedom , and where the voice of We the People can be heard , through those who represent us. Snowden could have stood before this House of Representatives , and voiced his concerns , and exposed this corruption , as many others have,if he truly believed it to be a threat to our nation. This is what our Founders would have done.
There is no other  place on earth , than America, to take a stand for Justice against Tyranny. Edward Snowden, as an American, should have known that. Instead, he now sits in exile , a dupe  of the Russians who will exploit him for all the intel and anti-American propaganda they can squeeze out of him . And then, unfortunately, Edward Snowden may discover the difference between the United States ,..and Russia, at least as far as freedom and free speech is concerned . After all , Russian jail cells are full of so -called , "patriots', who spoke out against the corruption that defines their homeland. These Russians citizens were willing to sacrifice themselves for their principles and are now paying the price ,either with imprisonment, or their lives. A pity that Snowden didn't realize that in America this  price had already been paid , by the patriots who founded our nation  .
Edward Snowden's stance against NSA corruption in America would have been far easier than his stand will be now , in a land where the so called ,"patriot", is still regarded, as an enemy of the State, and deserving of death.
In ancient Judea, those who called themselves Christians had a chance to hide their faith , and swear allegiance to the Emperor , and Rome.They could also have fled, to other lands, to follow their faith, but instead they stood their ground in the arena, ..and paid the price for the faith that would indeed one day be the blueprint for the Shining City on a Hill called America. Had these followers of Christ fled that arena , and gone into hiding,.....their faith,..and our Nation, would, most likely , not exist at all.
Is Edward Snowden a hero? No,..for there must always come a time , when all heroes must be willing to go into that den of lions, and pay the ultimate price;...in this Arena called America.
Ed Snowden , in his Christmas broadcast , said that children today will grow up with no concept of the privacy , that makes us what we are . Snowden is wrong. Privacy is not what defines us as Americans. Freedom does. And privacy , must sometimes be the price for that freedom.