Module 4 Discussions and Reflection Coursework Paper

Module 4 Discussions and Reflection
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation: Module 4 Discussions and Reflection
Discussion
Edward Snowden’s action of going public with the public surveillance of American citizens by the NSA (National Security Agency) was quite admirable (Dance & MacAskill, 2013). He was able to bring the agency into light, as their actions were not only unconstitutional, but also illegal as there was no oversight ("NSA Spying on Americans Is Illegal", 2017). However, the means in which he publicized this information depicted him as a naС–ve and despicable traitor. It is true that he appreciates the manner in which the NSA counters terrorism, however, cannot accept the spying on the American citizens. Therefore, seeking asylum in Russia, a country with not so strong ties with America depicts him as traitor selling information to the enemy (Simcox, 2015). From a professional standpoint, his actions went against the contract with the government. This is because when he blew the whistle, he compromised any anti-terrorism surveillance being conducted. Legally, he broke four laws, namely, theft of government property, unauthorized communication of National Defense information, willful communication of classified information to an unlawful person and broke the espionage act of 1917 (Morrissey, 2013). However, from an ethical point of view, we can state that Snowden is a principled individual who knew that the government’s actions were illegal.
Reflection
Professional ethics and discipline will be applicable in my profession. Professional ethics refers to the personal, administrative and company standard of conduct/behavior that is expected of professionals ("Professional Ethics", 2008)...