According to Sebastian Stein, the public has
a right to know everything about what’s going on in the country. However, it
sometimes becomes mandatory to keep things private in order to help the
citizens avoid restlessness (Stein 20). For example, if a war is about to be
broken and the government thinks that people should be transferred to safe
areas, then they should first be informed about the conflict and then taken
into confidence that their transfer to other areas would be the best option.
Another situation is that people need not to be told anything about internal
problems, such as street crimes. I think that the security of the public is
more important than letting them know every single thing. This is why the
government should hide important things or facts so that peace and harmony is
maintained.
After serving in Iraq, Chelsea Manning got
arrested in Mary 2010. Adrian Lamo, a computer expert in the United States,
anonymously informed the Army's Criminal Investigation Command that Chelsea
Manning had passed classified material to WikiLeaks, which is a whistleblower
website. She was then charged with over 20 offenses, including transferring
national defense data to an unauthorized site. She was also blamed for aiding
the country’s enemies, stealing the government property and violating the
Espionage Act. This case was known to the public so that everyone could learn a
lesson. If the story of Chelsea Manning was kept secret, then it would have
never been possible for the public to know what would be the outcome of doing
wrong deeds.
