A Pardon Czar? Start with Snowden.

So, Trump has appointed a pardon czar—someone whose job will be to review cases and recommend pardons. 

If that’s happening, I’ve got the perfect name to put at the top of the list: Edward Snowden. 

To hear the media report on Snowden over the years, you’d think he was some kind of traitor. Of course that’s exactly what the government wants you to believe. 

The truth is that he’s a man who gave up everything to tell the truth about the traitorous things our own government was doing to us. 

Snowden isn’t some radical anarchist who always hated the system and set out to burn it all down—far from it, actually. 

He grew up with a deep respect for the United States, and for American institutions.

His family’s history in America goes all the way back to the Mayflower (something he’s really proud of), and they’ve served their country for generations. His dad was a Coast Guard officer, his mom worked for the federal court system, and his grandfather was a senior official in the FBI and was actually at the Pentagon on 9/11.

Snowden followed in their footsteps. After 9/11, he enlisted in the Army because he wanted to fight for his country. He was injured in a training accident and discharged before he could deploy, but that didn’t stop him from finding another way to serve. 

He went to work for the CIA and later became a contractor for the NSA. He believed in the system. He believed he was working to protect the country. 

Then he saw what was actually going on. 

The government wasn’t just tracking terrorists or foreign enemies. It was tracking everyone. Without warrants. Without oversight. Without any regard for the Constitution. 

The same government that lectures other countries about freedom and human rights was secretly spying on its own citizens—ordinary people who had done nothing wrong. 

He realized he had a choice. 

He could stay silent, keep his comfortable life, and pretend he didn’t know what he knew. Or he could blow the whistle, tell the American people the truth, and risk losing everything. 

He chose to tell the truth. 

That decision cost him his home, his job, and his country. 

He’s spent more than a decade in exile in Russia. Senior officials across several administrations have made it clear that if he comes back, he won’t get a fair trial. 

Meanwhile, the people who ran illegal surveillance programs and lied about it to Congress are still here. They still have their careers, their power, and their pensions. 

If this new administration is serious about righting wrongs, they should start with Snowden. 

He didn’t betray America—he upheld its founding principles better than most politicians ever have.

We wrote about Snowden in The Tuttle Twins Guide to Courageous Heroes because kids need to understand what real courage looks like.

They need to learn through real-life examples that standing up for what’s right, even if it costs you everything, is something that real heroes do. Snowden wasn’t looking for fame or attention. He didn’t sell state secrets to a foreign power for financial gain. He gave the American people proof of what their own government was doing behind their backs. 

That’s not treason—that’s integrity, and kids deserve to know that people like Snowden exist. 

That stories of great courage aren’t just found in history books about people who lived long ago. 

There are things happening in the world today that give ordinary men and women the chance to make hard, right, choices that have profound impacts for good. 

For years now we’ve shared stories of people like Snowden on our family podcast. We took a brief hiatus, but I’m stoked to share that we’re relaunching next week! 

It’s called The Way the World Works, and it’s a fun, family-friendly show where we break down big ideas—things like free markets, government overreach, history, and the crazy things happening in the world today. 

Ever wonder why politicians always claim their programs will “fix” things, yet somehow, everything gets worse? We talk about that. Curious about what inflation really is and why your money doesn’t go as far as it used to? We explain it in a way your kids can understand. Want to know why the government keeps getting bigger no matter who’s in charge? We cover that, too. 

These are the kinds of conversations that aren’t happening in schools or mainstream media, but they should be happening at your dinner table. 

We’ve got some great episodes coming up, and I can’t wait for you to hear them, so stay tuned for the relaunch, and in the meantime, if you haven’t grabbed The Tuttle Twins Guide to Courageous Heroes yet, now’s a great time. 

It’s packed with stories of real people who stood up when it mattered, and it gives kids real-life examples of regular people who did remarkable things. 

One of the coolest things about courage is that it’s contagious. That’s why the bad guys always work so hard to paint courageous heroes as villains.

But we’re working overtime to tell the true and inspiring stories that will help parents raise the next generation of men and women who stand for what’s right, no matter what.

Thanks for letting us be part of the important work you’re doing.

—Connor