Edward Snowden saw it as his moral duty to release government secrets, week 3 discussion help

 Try to attempt to take the conversation further by examining their claims or arguments in more depth or responding to the posts that they make to you.  Keep the discussion on target and try to analyze things in as much detail as you can. 100 words or more.

Edward Snowden saw it as his moral duty to release government secrets in order to inform the public about hidden policies and actions. The consequences of this were his exile from the United States and a potential death sentence if he ever returned home. While the story was big news at the time, it inspired little to no action by the American people or the American Government. I think Snowden was right to release these documents because his intentions were morally clean. He had nothing to gain from this but to try to prevent future manipulation of the rights of U.S. citizens. Using a Deontological theory in this case would be the only theory providing logic behind Snowden’s actions. Without any positive ends to the information being distributed this action would contradict a Utilitarian stand point. Based on the fact that Snowden was an employee of the CIA, sworn to protect the interests of the United States, this action definitely wouldn’t follow the path of moral relativism, or any other culturally based theory.

Deontalogical Theory: “The Theory of Unknown Duty”
If a person either doesn’t know, or doesn’t understand their duty they cannot be acting with a sense of duty as their driving motivation. A sense of duty is more than a feeling, it’s code of ethics established by values acquired through years of development. It is a reflex reaction without thought of consequence. If a person has to stop and question their moral duty then they are without the faculties to use it effectively. A soldier dives on a grenade to shield his comrades from possible harm. A person stops on the highway to assist a stranded motorist. These are reflex actions done for no other reason than to help another. By evaluating a situation and making a conscious decision, moral duty is clouded by ego, self-centered thoughts, and consequence. Its human nature to have those thoughts weigh on any decision. However once those thoughts appear it is no longer possible to make a decision completely selflessly.