Purpose
The purpose of the article was to inform readers of Edward Snowden, what he did to stir up so much controversy, and to convince readers that Snowden is not innocent for what he did. McManus addresses this when he states, "Snowden's disclosures have expanded far beyond those laudable aims to exposing U.S. intelligence-gathering operations that appear not only legal but legitimate in the eyes of most Americans". The "laudable aims" are Snowden's reasons to disclose the information, which is to let the public known about the NSA spying on Americans, yet McManus is focused on the information he disclosed that is potentially harmful to America. McManus's goal is to put an end to praising Snowden as a hero and rightly inform the audience that Snowden has also released confidential information that pertains to the United States. McManus attempts to stay neutral towards the whole article, but ultimately slides towards the negative end of the spectrum. He claims that "Snowden deserves credit for starting an important national debate, but he fully merits condemnation too". His purpose is well intentioned, but it is strongly opinionated towards his views.
The purpose of the article was to inform readers of Edward Snowden, what he did to stir up so much controversy, and to convince readers that Snowden is not innocent for what he did. McManus addresses this when he states, "Snowden's disclosures have expanded far beyond those laudable aims to exposing U.S. intelligence-gathering operations that appear not only legal but legitimate in the eyes of most Americans". The "laudable aims" are Snowden's reasons to disclose the information, which is to let the public known about the NSA spying on Americans, yet McManus is focused on the information he disclosed that is potentially harmful to America. McManus's goal is to put an end to praising Snowden as a hero and rightly inform the audience that Snowden has also released confidential information that pertains to the United States. McManus attempts to stay neutral towards the whole article, but ultimately slides towards the negative end of the spectrum. He claims that "Snowden deserves credit for starting an important national debate, but he fully merits condemnation too". His purpose is well intentioned, but it is strongly opinionated towards his views.