W. Mark Felt, the assistant director of the FBI during the Watergate
scandal, has admitted to being "Deep Throat." He was the source of
important information for Washington Post investigative reporters
Woodward and Bernstein. Felt's revelations and tips kept the
investigation alive by pulling back the shroud of secrecy hiding the
criminal activities of the Nixon White House.
Felt should receive the American Medal of Freedom for his courage and
patriotism in defense of our democracy. The greatest threat to
democracy is secrecy. It is a generic flaw of our representative system
of government. Secrecy is endemic to government; it is the device
government officialdom uses to hide the truth and to manipulate the
media and the public, and is the slippery slope leading to tyranny.
The only antidote to the excesses of secrecy is the occasional patriot
leaking the truth to the media or to the Congress. Unfortunately, the
Congress is all too complicit in maintaining secrecy in government.
Thank you, Marc Felt, for your service to freedom and democracy; let us
hope that your revelation is an incentive to present-day
whistleblowers. The need for whistleblowers has never been greater.
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