[DoodleDawg]

Manning is a traitor, Snowden is a hero.

What made one a traitor and the other a hero?

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

One released information to the enemy, which put Americans and their allies in grave danger. The other alerted Americans and the rest of the world of warrant-less spying on everyone (enemies, allies and citizens alike). After the Berlin wall came down, most right-thinking people were aghast at the records the STASI kept, and their methods for collecting that information. The NSA puts the STASI, and similar bureaus in other totalitarian regimes, to shame. As recently as 15 years ago, almost no Americans would have tolerated what the NSA has been blithely doing, with no meaningful oversight.