> David Brooks made a case for why he thought Snowden was wrong to leak information about the Prism surveillance program ... “For society to function well,” he

> David Brooks made a case for why he thought Snowden was wrong to leak information about the Prism surveillance program ... “For society to function well,” he wrote, “there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. By deciding to unilaterally leak secret N.S.A. documents, Snowden has betrayed all of these things.” What gets me about this quote is complete lack of introspection as to who exactly lacks respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. Snowden revealed a lack of respect for institutions in those very institutions. The hypocrisy is thick. But we all know this. And we all know that this is spin. And it's this lack of self-respect the institutions have for themselves and their own actions that fosters questioning the moral stance, value, and intrinsic worth of the "System" by those brought up on messages of double-standards, question authority, and buck the status quo. The emperor has no clothes, and comes right out and says it.