John Greenwald's Argument Analysis

Throughout the history of the United States, freedom of speech and of the press have been fundamental cornerstones of the country's democracy. In recent weeks, there have been many questions surrounding the limits of free speech, the integrity of the press, and how the government should handle such problems. When former President Barack Obama granted clemency to whistleblower Chelsea Manning, some officials, such as Paul Ryan, were outraged by this act, and others, like Glenn Greenwald celebrated President Obama’s decision. In a recent NPR interview with Rachel Martin, Greenwald delivered his case as to why Manning deserved clemency and how other whistleblowers, such as Edward Snowden, deserve to be pardoned by the state. Through his arguments surrounding the unfair treatment of Manning, the …show more content…
citizens of the government’s injustices, correlates well with Martin Luther King Jr.’s dialogue in his letter from Birmingham jail. King’s work addresses many issues involving direct action, disobedience of the law, and if society must obey unjust laws. In his letter, King struggles with the idea of disobeying one law, while urging the rest of the country to follow the Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education. This debate between just and unjust laws directly aligns with Greenwald’s defense of Manning; Manning was acting against a law that harmed the general population of America. It was simply her moral obligation to inform the public, even if the action itself was illegal. King goes even further to say that if a law is just but it’s application is unfair, then the law itself becomes unjust. This is one of the biggest complaints Greenwald has with Manning’s case. She received a 35 year sentence for a crime that in other cases, the person wasn’t sentenced to spend a single day in jail. Manning’s unjust treatment is exactly what King was referring to when discussing unjust

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