Bradley Manning. Traitor.

My opponent seems hesitant to utilize any critical thinking skills when considering this case, instead simply resigning to the fact that, “The law says this, and he broke the law, so he is this.” First, let me recap a few of my opponent’s assertions: The U.S. government/military and the U.S. people aren’t two entirely different entities. The actions of the U.S. government and military, as well as the motives of Bradley Manning, are entirely irrelevant to this case. These assertions display a serious lack of either regard for or knowledge of legal ethics, democracy, and the U.S. Constitution. To say that either of these points plays no part in the Bradley Manning case is naïve at best and delusional at worst. The idea that the U.S. government and U.S. citizens are two entirely different entities, and that it is the people’s responsibility to hold the government accountable for their actions, are basic facts that can be learned in any introductory class on political theory.First, then, I would like to address my opponent’s assertion that the U.S. government/military and the U.S. people aren’t entirely different entities. To do so, I would first like to visit a quote from Ayn Rand’s piece “The Nature of Government:” “A government is an institution that holds the exclusive power to enforce certain rules of social conduct in a given geographical area.” The definition of institution, at the most basic level, is “a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose.” Therefore, an institution, i.e. the U.S. government and the U.S. military, is NOT the same as its people. This is a relatively simple concept to understand. Look at any of the thousands of political revolutions that have occurred in human history—The French Revolution, The Cuban Revolution, even The American Revolution, and right up to the revolution taking place in Syria at this very moment—these are instances of PEOPLE taking the power back from an unfair GOVERNMENTAL system, proving, in the most basic essence, that governing bodies and their people are two entirely separate entities.Next, I would like to address my opponent’s assertion that the actions of the U.S. government and military, along with the motives of Bradley Manning, are irrelevant to the case at hand. To do so, I would like to examine a few quotes from some of the framers of the U.S. Constitution, as well as some from the most popular political figures and thinkers in our nation’s history. These quotes speak to the idea that it is the duty of the U.S. people to hold their government accountable for their actions, in order to prevent tyranny and total abuse of power. Moreover, many of these quotes speak to my first point about the government and its people being two entirely separate entities.1. Abraham Lincoln:a.) “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” b) “Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose -- and you allow him to make war at pleasure… If, today, he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us'; but he will say to you, 'Be silent; I see it, if you don't.”2. Thomas Jefferson:a) “I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of Constitutional power.” b) “The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.”c) “If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions." So, at this point, two things can be established: 1) That the U.S. government and American citizens are two separate entities 2) That it is the duty of American citizens to keep the U.S. government in check Once again, then, I will assert: Is Manning a traitor against the United States government, meaning its laws and institutions? Perhaps. Did he break a law? Maybe. But there is no evidence that U.S. wartime casualties increased after Manning broke the documents in question, making criminal prosecution difficult at best. And more important than that, even, is the question of whether or not Manning is a traitor to American citizens. While some of the information he leaked could have potentially put U.S. military forces in risk of danger in Iraq and Afghanistan, a large amount of what he released had to do with the fudging of civilian death counts; the use of torture, abuse, and rape by Iraqi authorities; the hiring of child prostitutes by private DOD contractors; the brutal slaughtering of thousands of innocent civilians; and our motivations for engaging in war in the first place. It was Bradley Manning’s responsibility, as a citizen of the United States—not as a member of its military—to educate his fellow people of the unfounded atrocities occurring overseas. If we have one duty as citizens of this country, it is to keep the government in check in order to preserve the rights and liberties of the humans occupying our geographical space. As author Julian Barnes says, “The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” To address my opponent’s arguments in Round 2, that some of the information released by Manning revealed sensitive data regarding troop movement, safe houses, updated tactics, etc., all I have to say is this: That type of tactical information pales in comparison to the thousands of other revelation that were made regarding blatant human rights violations on the part of members of the U.S. military. Hypothetically speaking, if a member of the U.S. military rapes and slaughters an entire family of Afghani or Iraqi civilians, that soldier deserves any violence and death that comes his way. The lives of U.S. soldiers are not more important than the lives of innocent civilians, American or otherwise. It is these atrocities on the part of the U.S. military, the atrocities that Manning exposed, that is fueling anti-American sentiment worldwide and putting the safety of U.S. citizens at risk. By making the American people, and the rest of the world, aware of these actions, and holding the U.S. government accountable, Manning is fighting for the liberty, safety and human rights of the American people and those overseas. In sum, and contrary to my opponent’s assertion that I am somehow seceding victory and “contradicting myself and changing my original opinion," I will try to break this down logically: -By legal definition, is Bradley Manning a traitor to the United States government? Perhaps, if one can provide anysolid evidence that the information he leaked directly led to U.S. casualties. -Is Bradley Manning a traitor to the United States people? No, quite the opposite. -Do the rights of the people trump the rights of the government? Of course. Therefore, Bradley Manning is not a traitor to the United States of America. Rather, he is the ultimate People’s Patriot, and it is my belief that he will one day be remembered as an important figure in the fight for freedom in the United States.