Whistleblowers deserve praise and protection

The asylum-seeker reminds us of perverse mass media coverage of Watergate, Iran-Contra and alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. I personally admire courageous whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, John Dean, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, who I’d label conscientious objectors. Likewise, Edward Snowden is facing an overly aggressive barrage of fear and smear tactics, shifting focus away from the government’s own wrongdoing and outright lies. Their purported crimes were challenging the hegemony of Uncle Sam by exposing the world’s most powerful state-sponsored cyber-espionage in a system that supposedly prizes individual freedoms. Would you prefer not to know that your government is infringing on your constitutional right to privacy and self-expression?

Edward Snowden stepped forward because he realised the US government is engaged in invasions of privacy on a vast and unprecedented scale. The NSA is contravening Fourth Amendment guarantees against unreasonable searches and seizure as well as safeguarded constitutional freedoms. We the citizens of a dysfunctional, divisive nation that has largely lost the moral high ground must be disturbed by unconscionable practices and policies implemented under a president who hypocritically vowed transparency and openness. What lessons are we teaching our kids?

What is necessary now is a more equitable balance between national security protections and the relative importance of corporate power versus personal privacy. Brave whistleblowers have forced us to reflect seriously about hackers, illegal wiretapping, Facebook credit-card swindles and the future of the unruly cyber-world. Did the leaks serve or harm public interest and natural justice? Only time will tell.

Charles Frederickson      

Bangkok