> but we do have a long way to go before swaying public opinion At least in the case of Snowden, public opinion is against him and he is labelled as a "traitor

> but we do have a long way to go before swaying public opinion At least in the case of Snowden, public opinion is against him and he is labelled as a "traitor" because people think it is perfectly fine for the government to spy on them, because unless they are doing something wrong, they have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. This dangerous argument is the reason that most people do not seem to care enough on why your government spying on you is a very bad thing and the ramifications of it, even if you are not doing something wrong. Throw in the "extreme" threat of terrorism on top of this, and most people are totally OK with the NSA programs: "I have nothing to hide and this helps prevent terrorism and therefore Snowden is a traitor for putting Americans at risk."