Lon Snowden, as well as others, have compared Edward Snowden to "Paul Revere" and called him a "Hero" while others vilified him (Jeddah 3). Technically what he did was a crime, yet many people rallied to his defense. “There is every reason to believe that the federal government has collected every bit of information about every American's phone calls” (Hertzberg 2). Through Edward Snowden's actions we learned about the government's data collection program: Prism. This has prompted the public to question the government's credibility. It also sparked a frenzy among politicians and citizens, debating the legality, constitutionality and necessity of these covert operations. Edward Snowden's revelations about NSA data collection have reignited a previously dormant conflict between political parties over mass data collection and made people question their trust in the government. In 2009, Snowden was quoted “Government officials leaking classified information…well, that's the worst crime conceivable” (Harding quoting Snowden). This ideology appears to directly contradict Snowden's actions. In 2012, while working at a facility of the Japanese NSA, Snowden became a "disillusioned technician" (Harding) realized how intent the NSA was on collecting every bit of electronic data it could and that the systems put in place to maintain the NSA's control had failed. Edward quickly became a lurking whistleblower. “I couldn't wait for someone else to act” (Harding quoting Snowden), a now thirty-year-old technical assistant at the US Central Intelligence Agency, met with Guardian journalists. and illegally leaked classified information from his government laptops Soon… halfway through the document… if they were released, it could be incredibly damaging. With data from nearly every person on the Internet stored, it can be difficult to manage such huge databases. Society was changed by Snowden. People, regardless of their political party, were affected by his leaks. NSA supporters have called Edward a traitor and a criminal, while those who disagree call him a hero and a whistleblower. Both sides have taken up arms and debated tirelessly about how much we actually need these incredibly invasive surveillance programs. People's trust in the government has also been severely damaged. This is a terrible but necessary impact. This affects every citizen and therefore everyone must be informed. Snowden's actions have angered politicians and sparked many political debates and have made people think carefully about what to believe when it comes to the government..