I'm personally against NSA spying.

It's both a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment and an infringement of privacy (a fundamental right).

I also recognize quite a few countries do not have a First Amendment.

The reality is that U.S. standards, even with the CLOUD Act (which I think leans too much in favor of law enforcement interests), are going to be better than that in quite a few countries.

Obviously, the U.S. can and should do better to uphold constitutional rights, although it's not as clear cut as "U.S. bad".