On December 17, in a prison cell in Quantico, Virginia, Bradley Manning will be celebrating his 23rd birthday alone. Manning stands accused of releasing classified documents about America’s wars and foreign policies, including the Collateral Murder video showing American troops killing two Reuters employees and civilians who offered humanitarian aid to the wounded. Many speculate that Bradley Manning may be responsible for the Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs, which show in frightful detail the scores of civilians being killed by America’s ongoing foreign wars and the inhumane tactics employed by our troops overseas. And last week, the biggest leak of all: the first wave of over 250,000 secret diplomatic cables that have brought to light America’s bullying imperialism and backroom deals.

Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and ex-Pentagon official KT McFarland are calling for Manning’s execution, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is vowing “aggressive steps” will be taken against those responsible for the leaks. As WikiLeaks scrounges to find a way to keep their site alive after being shut out by PayPal, Amazon and EveryDNS, Manning is held in prison, unable to meet with his family and prevented from getting the vast majority of his mail.

Reviewing the still-unverified chat logs between Manning and unscrupulous journalist Adrian Lamo prior to Manning’s arrest sheds light on the motivation and goals of the alleged whistle-blower. Manning stated that he hoped the publication of the diplomatic cables would spur “worldwide discussion, debates, and reform.”

Manning stated: “I want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”

This speaks to the real purpose of the leaks and the reason every citizen in America should care deeply about the fate of Bradley Manning.

America is a democracy. We take pride in the fact that all citizens have the right to participate in our government. Based on the promises, history, and positions of our politicians, we citizens make decisions about who we will elect to represent us.

But democracy is destined to fail if voters don’t know the truth about their government.

As the ACLU has pointed out, it is because of conscientious whistle-blowers that we now know about secret CIA prisons overseas, the level of civilian casualties in the Iraq War and the NSA’s warrantless wiretap program. This is information that can and should impact how the public feels about our government. It’s information that belongs in the public domain, even if it makes Washington politicians uncomfortable. Because when Americans become frustrated or disenchanted with their elected representatives, we have the right to replace them.

This is why transparency is vital to a democracy. Whether or not you agree with America’s wars, you must know the truth to form an educated opinion about them.

Informed citizens are the foundation of our society. In the last year, WikiLeaks has provided damning evidence detailing how the United States government has obfuscated, down-played and misrepresented the reality of our foreign policy. This is the unique, powerful, and necessary role of whistle-blowers: to shine a light in the darkness of corruption, secrets and falsehood.

If Bradley Manning is, in fact, the WikiLeaks whistle-blower, then we owe him our gratitude. He embodies the principles of democracy that would make our founding fathers proud.

For Bradley Manning’s birthday, to be celebrated in solitude in a military prison cell, we’re calling on all citizens who believe in democracy to sign a petition for Manning’s freedom and make a donation to our defense fund. Manning will be facing the full force of the United States’ wrath over the leaked documents. You can save him.

Sign the petition: www.standwithbrad.org
Donate to the defense fund: http://tinyurl.com/savebradley

Now is the time, for those who believe that transparency is central to democracy, to stand with Bradley Manning. Join us!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/savebradley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/savebradley
Mailing list: send a blank email to supporters-join [at] bradleymanning [dot] org