I was raised on Ayn Rand and after years of transformation (at times slow and at times quick), I now find her to be nothing less than evil. I get it.

But please don't glorify Snowden like everyone else does. He was a double agent. He teed himself up for a life of luxury in Russia, got a lot of Americans killed, and is now a privileged person in PUTIN'S RUSSIA. Please let than sink in. I appreciate what he allowed us to learn by the exposure of those documents, and I'm no patriot or supporter of the order that exists, but I do believe in being honest. I'm not trying to convince you of anything. But I am asking you to at least consider my challenge. Because the fact that he is a prized intelligence asset in Russia is just a simple fact.

We all have this intractable need to put people in the “good” or the “bad” category — to have heroes and villains — and it’s so hard for us to accept people as mixed. As Snowden is. But this need makes us fall prey to people like Ayn Rand (and yes, I realize I called her evil in the beginning of this comment, but I am not immune from this tendency).