Be a Hero, Pay a Price

A military judge has found Army Pvt. Bradley Manning guilty of more than 20 counts against him, including espionage, for his role in supplying information for the notorious WikiLeaks release of hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents, including State Department cables. Manning walked on the count of “aiding the enemy” – appropriate, in my view, as I don’t think that was his intention, even though some of the material could actually put foreign interests working with the United States in danger. Manning’s stated intention was to encourage debate, and that he did, but it could cost him decades in prison.

Pardon me, but I’m still trying to figure out, besides sparking debate, exactly what this release accomplished. Manning had to violate an oath, steal information, and make public cables for which the senders had a reasonable expectation of privacy. While Manning  likely heads for prison, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, perhaps a step up in accommodations, but probably not much higher.

Meanwhile, Edward Snowden remains stuck in the Moscow airport transit section following his revelation of the NSA scheme to collect data on Americans, whether or not they are suspected of crimes. Snowden also violated an oath, but felt we all needed to know about this program and start talking about it. It worked! But Snowden may find himself living in less-than-savory countries from now on, always looking over his shoulder.

Some -- though I’m not one of them -- may consider all three of these guys heroes and may wonder why they have to pay for brave acts in furtherance of the noble cause of light-shedding. Bravery (or bravado) was certainly involved, but how noble were the causes? It may truly be up to history to decide that question. I do think it’s fair to say that all three deserve what’s coming to them, at least in the short term.

A hero always has to pay a price – or risk paying one. It comes with the territory.