Chelsea Manning, American Hero

by Jasmin Maurer, Executive Director

The verdict of Private Chelsea Manning was met with a great deal of anger, sadness and a sense that justice was not served.  It’s often the case that people who challenge corrupt power structures are met with harsh punishments. Manning is no exception.

For uncovering massive corruption, torture and war crimes, Manning was discharged, demoted and sentenced to 35 years in military prison.  Meanwhile, the true war criminals are able to live their lives unscathed, and the power structure has remained intact.

Looking at the list of information that Manning uncovered to the American people (or try this one here), it seems hard to believe that she should be punished.  She’s a hero who acted based on her moral convictions, who saw the injustices that the US military was carrying out and did something about it.

Manning may have taken an oath when she joined the military, but I for one am glad that she shared this information.  It is the duty of its people to uncover corruption within government and its agencies.  And that is what Manning did, uncovered corruption.

I applaud Manning and her efforts to stand up to the imperialistic US military.  She is an incredibly brave individual who has put herself at great risk in order to remain true to herself.  Her own words after her sentencing speak volumes:

I understand that my actions violated the law. I regret that my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States. It was never my intent to hurt anyone. I only wanted to help people. When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and my sense of duty to others.

If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society. I will gladly pay that price if it means we could have a country that is truly conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all women and men are created equal.

To me, Chelsea Manning is a hero above all else deserving of our support and solidarity.  I stand with Chelsea.