The Pentagon Papers still matter today because starting with the Papers, a dangerous precedent has been set and reaffirmed continuously by the powers that be. Time and time again we have asked our government to do nothing more than what is asked of us when we give testimony in a court trial—to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” Time and time again, however, said powers have done all within their power to avoid and side-step the truth, seeming instead to use the opportunity of their testimony as a way to hone their skills at evasion and omission.
We had a golden opportunity with the public release of the 9/11 Commission Report to have the truth about out involvement in the revealed to us about our involvement in the second Gulf War, and we know how that movie ended.
So it seems the only way we can get the whole truth from our government is to force their hand by forcing the truth out from their hands. If there was any other way to accomplish the acquisition of truth that would prove more effective, we would have found it (or been pointed towards it) by now. When hands shield the truth from those who need to hear it or from those who demand it, it’s a safe bet that the truth in question will reveal the lies that serve as a basis for the truth they would rather have us believe. In an ideal world, the example of Daniel Ellsberg should serve not just as an example, but an imperative. He took action to make the truth known that risked his career, his future and his name. To call him a hero is an understatement; he was a modern-day David going up against a modern-day Goliath. It was years late and untold and priceless life was lost in the wait, but our Republic is still the better for it.
