Edward Snowden

"The greatest fear that I have is that the normalization of surveillance will mean we lose all privacy and, with it, our freedom of thought."

"I don't want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded."

"Privacy is not something that I'm hiding behind; privacy is something we're losing."

"Being a whistleblower has nothing to do with being a hero. It's an act of desperation."

"I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American."

"The only way change happens is through civic engagement and through people voicing their opinions."

"When you realize you're living in a system that no longer serves you, you have to make a choice."

"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say."

"I've been to the darkest corners of government, and what I've seen would shock most Americans."

"Democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency."

"Fear is the tool of tyrants."

"The measure of a person is not how they live during comfortable times, but how they stand at times of challenge."

"Power without accountability is tyranny."

"I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror."

"If governments were transparent and honest, whistleblowers would be unnecessary."

"We must always question authority and hold power accountable."

"The greatest freedom is freedom of thought."

"Conscience is something that no state can take away."

"Every person has a responsibility to stand up for what they believe is right."

"The system only works when we demand better from it."

"Truth has a way of emerging no matter how much people try to suppress it."

"I acted out of love for my country, not hatred for it."

"Ordinary people are capable of extraordinary acts."

"The Constitution doesn't expire."

"Surveillance is the business model of the internet."

"You don't have to be a hero to do the right thing."

"Real change comes from people standing together."

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

"The right to privacy is fundamental to human dignity."

"Whistleblowers are often the most patriotic people in the room."