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New York Times Interview Lyrics by Edward Snowden

2013

Edward Snowden:
[I didn't take any files to Russia] because it wouldn’t serve the public interest. What would be the unique value of personally carrying another copy of the materials onward? There’s a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents.
The secret continuance of these programs represents a far greater danger than their disclosure. So long as there’s broad support amongst a people, it can be argued there’s a level of legitimacy even to the most invasive and morally wrong program, as it was an informed and willing decision. However, programs that are implemented in secret, out of public oversight, lack that legitimacy, and that’s a problem. It also represents a dangerous normalization of ‘governing in the dark,’ where decisions with enormous public impact occur without any public input.
[I had] access to every target, every active operation [mounted by the N.S.A. against the Chinese]. Full lists of them. If that was compromised, N.S.A. would have set the table on fire from slamming it so many times in denouncing the damage it had caused. Yet N.S.A. has not offered a single example of damage from the leaks. They haven’t said boo about it except ‘we think,’ ‘maybe,’ ‘have to assume’ from anonymous and former officials. Not ‘China is going dark.’ Not ‘the Chinese military has shut us out.’
[Inside the NSA] there’s a lot of dissent — palpable with some, even. [But people are kept in line through] fear and a false image of patriotism - obedience to authority.
[If I tried to question the N.S.A.’s surveillance operations as an insider, my efforts] would have been buried forever. [I would] have been discredited and ruined. The system does not work. You have to report wrongdoing to those most responsible for it.
You can’t read something like that [the classified NSA report Snowden read] and not realize what it means for all of these systems we have.
If the highest officials in government can break the law without fearing punishment or even any repercussions at all, secret powers become tremendously dangerous.
I handed over the documents to journalists because [I want my own bias] divorced from the decision-making of publication. Technical solutions were in place to ensure the work of the journalists couldn’t be interfered with.
Credits
Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden

About “New York Times Interview” by Edward Snowden

Read the complete lyrics to "New York Times Interview" by Edward Snowden in 2013. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under In English, Interview, Non-Music.

"New York Times Interview" is performed by Edward Snowden. in 2013 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "New York Times Interview", explore more songs by Edward Snowden using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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