Since the turn of the millennium, more than 2.5 million veterans have returned to the United States. These men and women have fought bravely for the values that have long defined our nation: freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights. Regrettably, the nation they served has not always kept faith with their commitment.
The foundation of our society is the advance of liberty. And this progress is won through the resolution of conflict in favor of cooperation. Yet today governments have sought to expand human conflict into a new domain that reaches the home of nearly every citizen, the Internet.
Our Internet represents the public commons of the world. It is humanity's greatest tool for speech and association, for the development of peace and cooperation. And without the consent or awareness of the American public, our government has undermined the security of every citizen in every country - including our own - in pursuit of an advantage in surveillance.
Having served in the intelligence community, I understand that there are real threats in the world. I have also seen, up close, the threat that an unregulated and unwatched security state can pose to free societies. And you have no doubt watched with concern as equipment once reserved for war began patrolling our streets. But the internet reaches within the walls of our homes.
Service to our country does not mean blind compliance to the whims of a few government officials operating behind closed doors. Service means action: choosing to stand up, even on your own, in defense of peace; in defense of democracy; in defense of the rights inherited by this great society.