Snowden has been vindicated and he is a hero

[True Blue Door]

144. He was already vindicated. But he's still not a hero.

Too many of his decisions were reckless, arrogant, and driven by ideology rather than ethics. Too much of what he revealed didn't expose anything criminal, and yet created diplomatic problems for the United States with no accompanying moral justification.

The NSA is supposed to spy on foreign countries. That's its legitimate and completely legal function. Everything he exposed about that was a criminal act, and the only way I can take him seriously as a moral leader would be if he reaches some deal that lets him repatriate and answer for those aspects in court. Ideally the benefit of his exposing NSA domestic spying would lead to much milder consequences on the other stuff.

But I refuse to make a "freedom fighter" personality cult of a guy who sought asylum in Putinistan. He's someone who got in over his head trying to do the right thing and proved unequal to the task. That's the most charitable interpretation warranted by the facts.