Whistle-blowers give needed balance

A major story over the past several weeks has been that of the NSA’s bulk collection of metadata and the plans to extend the Patriot Act, which failed due to the efforts of individuals who share my feelings on the bill. The bill was anything but patriotic, essentially giving the NSA the right to spy on anyone they wanted, a right they have flagrantly abused with their mass collections of phone call records. It was probably the last thing our nation’s founding fathers would have wanted when they sat down over 200 years ago to draft the U.S. Constitution.

As important to me as the stoppage of “big brother” spying on your average citizen is the idea that when there is something wrong, you right it, no matter your position. That’s exactly what Edward Snowden did in 2013, when he realized there was a problem with the collection of information the NSA was building on every citizen it could find. Since he revealed the wrongdoing of an agency meant to protect the people he has been called both a hero and a traitor.  He is now seeking political refuge from the U.S. Justice system in Russia, hiding from the same government he helped to make more transparent.

Frederic Whitehurst now lives in Bethel, North Carolina, and like Snowden he learned how tough it is to stand up to the government, even if it’s the right thing to do. In 1996, Whitehurst, an international expert in forensics and an FBI agent, noticed discrepancies in the forensics investigations of the FBI and decided to dig in for a deeper look. Eventually, he uncovered over 10,000 instances in which the FBI had used faulty forensic evidence or even lied about forensic evidence in order to convict. He also lost his job and the respect of many of his former colleagues. Facing prosecution, he successfully lobbied for the president to sign an executive order ensuring whistleblower protection for FBI agents and is noted as the first successful whistleblower to the FBI.

He would, however argue the point on how successful he was and just how much more can be done. I had an opportunity to speak to Whitehurst, who assured me the government is still hiding its mistakes, from forensic investigation errors to mass espionage of the American people, and he says he is still watching them closely. He says, and I agree, that we should all act as whistleblowers, and citizens as a whole need to pay attention to the details of big government.

Doing the right thing is not always easy. If you cast a negative light on an unjust situation within the government, a corporation, or even the classroom, be prepared for the backlash. But if you can help to promote the change to make our country a better place, to help our country keep its ideals of equality that make it so great and make it worth staying loyal to, then backlash will be worth it. Big brothers can sometimes keep dark secrets, and sometimes it is left to us little brothers and sisters to raise the red flags when we learn of them. We should all strive to be whistleblowers when we see wrongdoing.  As President Obama has stated, albeit on a different topic than NSA blunders, it is on us.