“Compared to a lot of the countries that are being highlighted—Chinese, the Russians, countries where Mr. Snowden has taken asylum—these are countries that have far worse records with democracy and human rights than the United States.”

Mr. Meacham says he believes the tension and bad feelings will pass.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said this week that the American government will continue discussing the surveillance programs with foreign partners. But, she said, surveillance issues should not become more important than the work America and its partners are doing.

I'm Christopher Cruise.

Here we are in Huntington Beach, California—also known as Surf City.

Surfers have been riding the waves at Huntington Beach for almost 100 years. In the 1950s, musicians like the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean helped make the sport especially popular.

Movies also helped, like the 1959 film “Gidget.” The movie told about a teenage girl’s introduction to surf culture.

“Gee, if I had one of those boards, I could be a surfer too. I would come down and surf any time I wanted to, just like the guys.”

The International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach works to keep the history of surfing. It tells the story of Hawaiians George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku, who brought surfing to California in the early 1900s. It also shows modern surfing champions, such as Kelly Slater.