Today’s Guest Column
As Army Pfc. Bradley Manning goes on trial for releasing military documents and the government attempts to run damage control following Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency surveillance leaks, we as Americans have a stark reality to face about the authority of our government.
Whistle-blowers responsible for our government’s most revealing leaks face criticism ranging from accusations of treason to calls for severe punishment. Public figures from both sides of the political spectrum have openly labeled Snowden a traitor. Some have even gone so far as calling for Manning’s execution.
The reality is, both Manning and Snowden have given up everything they had (government job, double-jointed girlfriend, etc.) to expose injustice.
Manning wanted to shed light on heinous acts the government has committed in hopes it would “spark a domestic public debate about our foreign policy,” he said.
Snowden wanted to let the public “decide whether [mass NSA surveillance is] right or wrong.”
Popular sentiment says whistle-blowers such as Snowden and Manning are traitors and should be prosecuted as such.
Rather, these gentlemen should be revered as heroes — modern-day patriots. Individuals who side with the federal government (pro-interventionist foreign policy, big surveillance apologists) and its overstepping of constitutional limits are modern-day British loyalists.
A common misconception is that a patriot is one who stands with the law and authority, taking chauvinistic views. On the contrary, patriots are those who devote their lives to serving their communities or country and appreciate freedom. A nation’s government does not define the nation — its people do.
Furthermore, we established the Constitution to restrain government authority and establish procedure for action and protections for citizens. Both principles have been largely compromised.
When President Obama took the oath of office, as elected officials do, he swore to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Obama’s change.gov/agenda website declares, “The best source of information about … abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out.” The same language continues, “We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance [and] protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government.”
As president, he has portrayed the complete opposite philosophy.
Some argue NSA surveillance programs are necessary to protect our country. That idea couldn’t be more wrong. Having 100 percent safety is an impossible guarantee in this world. For government to claim that power is misleading and manipulative.
Put simply, mass data collection on the American public at large is not necessary for our country’s safety. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
A real way our federal government can make us safer is by re-evaluating our military presence abroad. Manning’s releases do just that. The federal government will again claim its actions are necessary and that secrecy is safety.
Some say Manning’s and Snowden’s actions compromised the safety of the United States. Yet these exposed policies are making us less safe and taking away our rights. These “officials” are our public servants; it is our government, and we too often bypass the true control we have in our system.
Information should be free. Why vilify government employees who risked it all to do the job our elected representatives, our checks and balances, and our tarnished Constitution have failed to do?
Charges of espionage against these whistle-blowers expose a far deeper malady within our government. Espionage is the practice of spying to obtain information for a foreign government or enemy. Since they released the information to the American public, the charges of espionage reveal that the government views “We the People” as enemies of its state.
This Fourth of July, we must recognize and celebrate our nation’s modern-day patriots. Seldom do people give up everything to preserve our freedoms — or what remains of them, that is.
Tommy Creegan and Mohsen Farshneshani are members of the United Youth Movement. Creegan is a columnist for The Diamondback.
