Why isn’t Snowden a traitor?

After the recent interview, the perception of Edward Snowden changed dramatically. The number of Americans who thought him a traitor dropped considerably.

I liked the part where he was asked what the NSA could do. He replied with “turn on your cell phone and it’s microphone, take pictures with your phone and read an e-mail as you were typing it.” Scary stuff indeed and no doubt those revelations turned a few heads and opinions.

So, if Snowden’s mission in life was to blow the whistle on the NSA, all he had to do was make Americans aware of its capability and demonstrate those capabilities were, in fact, used. You know like arranging an interview.

Why was there any need to leak government documents and secrets? Public outcry at the technology in use would have caused an investigation of the scope of data gathering in the appropriate forum.

Instead the route Snowden took does indeed make him a traitor. He had viable alternatives to giving aid and comfort to enemies and alienating allies.