The Unbearable Narcissism of Edward Snowden

Is Edward Snowden coming in from the cold? Three months after Vladimir Putin granted temporary asylum to the former National Security Agency contractor, thus freeing him from airport-lounge purgatory, Snowden appears to be searching for ways to reenter public life. According to the New York Times, Snowden’s Russian lawyer says the 30-year-old is about to start working for a prominent Russian technology company. A Russian newspaper photographed him on a boat cruising the Moscow River. Snowden’s father, Lon, tells the Times that Snowden is “safe, secure and happy.”

That Snowden, who’s effectively been on the run since leaking details of the NSA’s surveillance programs last June, might yearn for some semblance of a normal life is understandable. What’s harder to sympathize with is Snowden’s apparent belief that he shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions.