Good old-fashioned whistleblowing

I’m certain Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden fully believed at one point or another they were standing up for something important.

Snowden’s revelations have, indeed, ignited a national debate and pinned the Obama administration and its promise of transparency to the ropes. Manning’s message of a war gone wrong failed to stir the same passion, though polls show a majority of Americans are still waiting for that quick end to our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Snowden contradicted his concern for liberties broken by high tailing it for China and Russia, two locales known for shaky devotion to human rights. Manning drowned his more telling leaks in a torrent of documents that could, arguably, have aided enemies he had no wish to support.

Yeah, we all know the story outlines, fuzzy rights and obvious wrongs. Deep down we recognize that both men came to difficult decisions. It’s not that easy, after all, to stick your neck that far out. And we’ve all formed opinions about the two.

Allow me a bit of scandalous nostalgia, though. Like any older American, I can argue—at length—that the current generations no longer appreciate the work ethic involved, even in the art of taking a moral stand.

Daniel Ellsberg comes to mind. The military analyst released top secret documents on the war in Vietnam suggesting the nation’s leaders had decided, early on, that the conflict would end badly, with many pointless casualties. After the New York Times published some of the leaked papers, Ellsberg endured attempts by the administration to discredit him character, as well as a well-publicized trial. He never ran, never scurried off to a communist rival. He simply remained steadfast, suffered the blows opponents directed at him and emerged with reputation intact … perhaps until his recent defense of Snowden.

Speaking of Vietnam, Hugh Thompson, flying a helicopter over the village of My Lai one day in 1968, spotted American soldiers in the act of slaughtering civilians. He not only reported the incident on the radio, but also set down and confronted those involved in the massacre. While he readily testified on the wrong-doing (and took his lumps from hawkish types, civilian as well as military), he continued to fly missions and serve his country, the right way.

Going way back—even before my time—men of the Pennsylvania Line in George Washington’s Continental Army mutinied during the winter of 1781. They were justifiably weary of no pay, ragged uniforms and a starvation diet. So one day, instead of turning out for duty, they determined to march on congress and make their displeasure known. When British informants found out, the word quickly reached Redcoat high command. The Brits sent men to pursued mutineers to abandon the fight altogether, perhaps even to switch sides. But these men had suffered for many years, through harsh conditions and losing battles in the hopes of winning independence. Their complaint stood with payroll, and they promptly turned Redcoat spies over to their authorities.

In another war, the irascible General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell’s willingness to criticize his superiors led those in Washington to assign this irritant to out of the way China for the duration—almost. Stilwell rightly pointed out that the Nationalist Chinese under Chiang Kai-Shek were mismanaging money and supplies sent from the U.S., while largely avoiding battle. The Communists, he pointed out, actually fought Japanese soldiers.

The honesty did not go over well. But he followed orders and returned to this side of the world to live out his days.

Attorney General Elliot Richardson should be considered a role model. When ordered by Richard Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who was taking his role too literally (and with too much gusto) for the president’s tastes, Richardson refused, resigning from his position instead.

For once, an American doing the right thing in the correct manner was honored by many.

Of the current crop, I’m inclined to more sympathy for Manning than for Snowden. Although he was clearly indiscreet in the number and range of documents he leaked, there is no indication he wished to become a pop culture icon.

And unlike Snowden, he did not cower from his actions.

Yet by publicizing thousands of documents beyond the scope of what was necessary to prove his point, he exceeded the limits of what us old timers would call a proper protest of rights violated, or values shattered. True American leakers stand for law and rights, exposing violations without breaking ranks with the nation. They may take a beating as a result, but they know what is good and hold to it, often earning general praise in the long run.

Oh, for the good old days of whisteblowing.