Disturbingly, the First Amendment, along with the Fourth Amendment - protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, and requiring warrants - have been the major casualties of the shift in government policy in the last two decades. Unfortunately, I think that the biggest consequences of this tragedy won't be clear until it is far, far too late.

Even if I didn't have the support that I have, I would still be fighting the same fights, and I would still be the same person that I am today.

Donations to my legal defense fund really help, and I think keeping me motivated and spreading the message are also very important.

Investigative journalism and reporting has become much more dangerous. This is especially true for journalists and sources in National Security - but it has been getting pretty bad for beat reporters and small outlets doing local reporting, too.

I lived a few miles outside of a tiny town in central Oklahoma. I would often run amok though the fields of wheat, the patches of trees, along the railroad tracks, and on red dirt roads. This had a profound effect on my view of the world - vast, open-ended, full of opportunity, and ready for exploration.

While being tossed around the world from place to place as a teenager, I wasn't really tethered to any place or anyone.

As a young kid, I spent a lot of time exploring the world around me.