On Jan. 1 of this year the well-respected New York Times came out with an editorial arguing for clemency for Edward Snowden, pointing out how the NSA and other agencies have lied and continue to lie about its information gathering activities that impact each one of us.

The Times editorial was quickly and evidently followed independently by a similar editorial in The Guardian, urging the same actions.

The Times article pointed out how, despite President Obama’s assertion otherwise, that there was no way that Snowden, as an NSA “contractor,” could have brought his knowledge to public attention without taking the actions as he did.

Whistleblowers have not been treated well in this country, and there is yet no clear pathway that they can voice their concerns other than going directly to their supervisors who have been in charge of developing the questionable pathways that need examination.

Snowden has brought to the public’s attention the serious ethical issues that were unknown to the vast majority of Americans, and that deserve public debate and analysis.

Contrary to those in our nation’s capitol who don’t seem to understand our Constitution, and to those international corporations who profit from and wish to maintain our “War on Terror”, whistleblowers such as Snowden are national heroes that have risked their lives and futures to preserve our civil rights.

In my opinion, Snowden should have all charges against him dropped, given a scholarship to Harvard and the opportunity to get involved in governmental affairs to set our country on the right path once again.

Remember that our Constitution starts out, “We the People.” Well, “We the People” have chosen to give our elected legislators the power to make laws and take actions.

But when these actions are against the common sense of “We the People”, it is time to make our voices loudly heard and take back our country to the moral and ethical basis that our Founding Fathers intended.

The speech that John F. Kennedy would have delivered on the day he was assassinated included the sentence, “The righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength.” Persecuting a national hero who put his life and liberty at risk to preserve our constitutional freedoms is not a “righteous cause”.

Let a groundswell of public opinion be heard and re-educate our lackluster so-called leaders as to what ethical government is, and what our Constitution stands for.

Frank Stratton/Orcas Island