Bradley Manning’s conviction by a military court for leaking or passing sensitive military documents and video to the website WikiLeaks is a warning to potential whistleblowers and so-called leakers. The message is: count to ten and then think twice before you squeal on the government or any of its agencies, especially when you’re ratting on matters affecting national security. And this means not just the U. S. government but any government on the face of the earth.

It is one thing to “clear one’s conscience” and expose something one believes to be illegal, immoral, or distasteful, and it is another matter to “take center stage” to jeopardize the security or interests of one’s own country and people. Under these circumstances, one does not choose between the lesser of two evils, one chooses between what is right and what is wrong, the greater good for the greater number.

Aspiring whistleblowers should take heed. There is no fame-and-glory payoff for infidelity – only pain and ignominy.