Daniel Ellsberg is a lot like Lincoln

[David Lockmiller]

The Man Who Leaked the Pentagon Papers Is Scared
New York Times – March 25, 2023

Alex Kingsbury (a member of the editorial board of the New York Times)

Question. Why aren’t there more people who, when presented with evidence of something that they find morally objectionable, disclose it?

Daniel Ellsberg (the Man Who Leaked the Pentagon Papers)

Answer. Why aren’t there more? It’s a question I’ve often asked myself. Many of the people whistle-blowers work with know the same things and actually regard the information in the same way — that it’s wrong — but they keep their mouths shut. As Snowden said to me and others, “Everybody I dealt with said that what we were doing was wrong. It’s unconstitutional. We’re getting information here about Americans that we shouldn’t be collecting.” The same thing was true for many of my colleagues in government who opposed the war. Of course, people are worried about the consequences.

They fear losing their jobs, their careers, risking the clearances on which their jobs depend. People who have these clearances have often invested a lifetime in demonstrating that they can be entrusted to keep secrets. That trust becomes a part of your identity, which it is difficult to sacrifice, so that one loses track of a sense of higher responsibility — as a citizen, as a human being. (Emphasis added.)