In the last days of 2014, Stockholm chose a well-known whistleblower to win the Right Livelihood Award: none other than Edward Snowden, the embattled activist behind WikiLeaks.
Snowden is both loved and hated by the global community, though Snowden himself holds to the idea that his agenda is one that champions democracy, freedom, and human dignity. However, Snowden had to accept the award from Moscow via video, where the whistleblower is forced to reside at this time. So much for freedom.
The Plight of the Whistleblower
While Stockholm claims that Snowden is a hero, Washington, DC has labeled him a criminal under the Espionage Act. If he were to set foot in Sweden, he would be welcomed as a great humanitarian. Yet if he were to leave the place of his asylum in Russia, and were captured by US assets, then Snowden would be welcomed back to the US, promptly shackled, and handed an orange jumpsuit.
This is often the familiar plight of the whistleblower. As the saying goes, ‘One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.’ Or, in Snowden’s case: ‘One nation’s whistleblower is another nation’s traitor.’ Even closer to home, whistleblowers frequently enter a world of trouble when they try to bring misdeeds to light. I recently had a chance to speak with David Chizewer, a lawyer in the Chicago area, and he helped convince me that the actions of men and women like Snowden have emboldened people everywhere to come forward about injustices in their corners of the world; he anticipates that the world of “whistleblower law” will be both challenged and empowered as stories like Snowden’s continue to come to light.
We’re taught that no good deed goes unpunished, but in Snowden’s case, there is an award waiting for him in Sweden if he one day manages to visit without getting himself captured by the US government. His deeds however, haven’t been well received by much of the developed world.
Friends and Foes
The American people still remain divided on whether or not Edward Snowden is a traitor or a patriot; however, a poll conducted in June 2014 showed that 55% of Americans believe that Snowden “Did the right thing in exposing PRISM, the mass-data mining program.” Only 29% say that his releasing of NSA documents was the wrong thing to do.
However, Republican House Speaker John Boehner, called Snowden a traitor during an interview, according to Reuters. The US intelligence community is also not a fan of the award-winning whistleblower, especially since it now faces its heaviest scrutiny in four decades.
A Case for the Accusers?
Snowden blew the whistle on more than just domestic NSA spying programs. A major portion of his leaks concerned how US and UK intelligence agencies had been eavesdropping on the internal affairs of other nations, placing a very noticeable strain on US foreign policy, according to NBC’s Ali Weinberg. Especially since Snowden’s leaks had exposed how US intelligence had been snooping on 35 leaders from other nations, the global consensus is that there will be no “…returning to business as usual.” That’s according to German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
Many consider Snowden’s actions to have had a globally destabilizing effect on world affairs: between the US and her allies, and especially between Washington and Moscow—an increasingly chilly relationship that had already been in decline.
The main argument against Snowden is that he should not have leaked classified information about US intelligence gathering operations against foreign governments, because these actions were not a threat to the constitutional rights of US citizens and only served to harm American interests abroad. In addition, many have also put forth the argument that Snowden’s ‘crime’ was rooted in the releasing of those documents to a ‘foreign’ UK-based news publication, rather than approaching the US media.
The Alternative Nobel Prize Winner
Whether he’s a traitor or a patriot, there appears to be an interesting degree of poetic symmetry to the fact that Edward Snowden is now a bona-fide humanitarian hero. The Right Livelihood award actually has an ironic nickname: “The Alternative Nobel Prize.” It may bring to mind another award winner—one who can safely reside in his own home.
That would be President Barack Obama, who won the humanitarian honor – prematurely, some might say – during his first days in the Oval Office. It was a controversial choice, to be sure; former Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emmanuel was quick to denounce the organization moments after the president’s unexpected nomination.
To be fair, Obama’s actions of late have the outward appearance of someone who truly wants to live up to the ideals that the Nobel Prize represents; championing the middle class and driving unprecedented international cooperation on climate change both seem like a good way to do that. Even so, his administration isn’t exactly throwing Snowden an olive branch. There are limits to all things.
Obama and Snowden
In light of this fact, there is now an interesting dynamic in the eyes of humanitarians worldwide: one Nobel Prize winner is the leader of the free world, and his administration is currently in pursuit of the most recent ‘alternative Nobel Prize’ winner, labeling him a traitor and nothing more than “a 29-year-old-hacker.”
President Obama won his prize while still anticipating what he might do in office. But Edward Snowden’s prize would come at a high cost in service to humanity, democracy, and freedom; this cost might either be that of permanent exile or prison for the vast majority of his life. The world’s most famous whistleblower is truly a man without a country, and has stated time and time again that he knew this would be the most likely outcome.
For this, Stockholm awarded him the other most prestigious humanitarian prize for his deeds. Edward Snowden’s reaction: “This was never about me… [this was about] the kind of world we want to make for the next generation. Thank you so much.”
I’ll let you decide whether those sound like the words of a criminal.
Dan Wilhelm is a columnist for The Moderate Voice and Political People. Join him for discussions about progressive music and politics at New Music Friday, Utopian Daydreams, and on Medium.