In a flurry to swing American opinion regarding the documents released by Edward Snowden, politicians are now repeating an “absurd” talking point that Snowden was a spy for the Russians. Snowden points out the time it took to have Moscow allow him to enter the country after arriving there from Hong Kong last June. “Spies get treated better than that,” he said.

In a report from Reuters, Snowden credits the American people as being smarter than politicians think they are. He has repeatedly stated he has acted alone, and also states he took no documents with him. The United States is insisting on his capture and return, while his international support remains high.

Despite what your personal feelings regarding Mr. Snowden may be, the fact of the matter is that we are now having a conversation about national security we would not otherwise be having. The facts show Americans overwhelmingly believe the sacrifice of freedoms for the feeling of security is not an acceptable sacrifice.

If we took the NSA’s manpower and budget used to track, store and filter through the privacy of Americans and used it to actually develop an effective means of preventing tragedies, most taxpayers would feel this is money spent more wisely. Searching for a needle in a haystack reminds us of a child’s game. We can do better than this.

Occupy World Writes stands in Solidarity with all those who are willing to risk their personal freedom and liberty for the good of their country’s people. We believe “whistle blowers” should be protected, regardless of who the whistle is blown on; governments, corporations, banks, politicians, police, clergy, faculty – it matters not. Wrong is wrong, injustice is just that.

Prove your intelligence, America!