Falling out of love

摘要

Edward Snowden makes a perfect hero for some Germans. As a former contractor of an American spy agency who has been divulging its excesses, he is a "good American" who makes some of his compatriots look like "ugly Americans". He thus taps into both of the archetypes that Germans have long held about their most important ally. Mr Snowden also placed his own sense of morality above that of his government at the risk of being deemed a traitor. To Germans, who remember two dictatorships in one long lifetime, that is heroism.