[wildmusings]

>Given how around 50% the US population was brainwashed by government and media into believing Snowden is a traitor

It's unfortunate that you jump to the conclusion that those you disagree with are "brainwashed". There are reasons to think he was a whistle blower with good intentions. But there are also reasons, like his leaks of the US government's unquestionably legitimate surveillance of foreign governments, to think he was not. Someone on the other side of the debate could just as well call you brainwashed for discounting or not considering the latter point.

[notsrg]

Agh the old "questioning American hegemony, therefore traitor" act. Please enlighten me how spying on virtually every single government on the planet (ally or not) is "unquestionably legitimate".

[wildmusings]

So long as there is no world government with a monopoly on violence, that's just the way the game works. And it's not really anything to do with American hegemony in particular. Every country seeks to maximize its own power relative to others. Espionage is just one tool toward that end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(international_relatio...

And while you may believe with good reason that an individual should have higher loyalties (perhaps to humanity as a whole) than to his nation state, the legal codes of the nation states obviously cannot endorse that view, as it would be destructive of their own power and their competitors will not be so altruistic.