(For working links go here. Crossposted over at my Examiner post.)
Bradley Manning‘s whistleblowing as treason case continues to drag on . It appears that he has conceded to lesser charges but has to fight on the more important ones. Just to review: The bankers and swindlers who have sunk the economy haven’t even been charged with anything. The war criminals who started the Iraqi war mainly in order to steal their oil reserves or make sure that western businesses profit from them are completely free. Yet the army pawn who simply wanted to expose the crimes of the king faces life in prison. (See Kevin Gosztola’s exhaustingly detailed coverage here.)
I believed Daniel Ellsberg once remarked that Bradley Manning was what he once was. But here’s the thing: Ellsberg never suffered like Manning probably because the courts were kinder and Our Masters were more decent back then. The truth is that we live in a darker and more terrible time. That Manning is even facing this kind of sentence is truly horrific. We should be thankful that he’s stronger than Aaron Swartz or he might have taken his own life.
We should also be thankful about Manning’s courage. There’s even an app for that. This petition already has over 20000 signatures within several days. You should add yours. Here’s the text of the petition.
TO BRADLEY MANNING:
We write to express our gratitude for the risks you took to inform us of the criminal and immoral actions of our government and to create a public debate about those policies. We know that you have suffered for your actions, and we consider that an additional offense by a government that is failing to represent us.
We also know that you were successful. People have been informed, and a debate is underway. We won’t let it die. We will continue to advance the debate until our government begins respecting human life. We won’t forget your remarkable contribution.
Stay strong.
Thank you Bradley for showing us what true patriotism is. You can sign the petition here.