American Politicians Are Corrupt and Our Justice System is Broken

If I pulled half the crap politicians do, I’d be in jail

Benjamin Sledge

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Photo by fikry anshor on Unsplash

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.”
―Marcus Tullius Cicero

I remember when news broke that the American government had been spying on its citizens. A little known NSA contractor named Edward Snowden turned over piles of classified documents to reporters from The Guardian and Washington Post about how the United States Government — and nations abroad — spied on their citizens.

The initial reactions to Snowden’s revelations were split. According to Pew Research, in the days after the revelations, nearly half of Americans (49%) believed the release of classified information served the public interest, while 44% thought it harmed it. More than half (54%), however, thought the government should pursue criminal charges against Snowden. Politicians across the aisle condemned Snowden and called him a “traitor,” seeking to charge him under the Espionage Act of 1917.

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Benjamin Sledge

Multi-award winning author | Combat wounded veteran | Mental health specialist | Occasional geopolitical intel | Graphic designer | https://benjaminsledge.com