Daniel Ellsberg, activist and military analyst
Kilworth Memorial Chapel, 7:30 p.m.
Does the President have an unlimited right to lie? What should a government official do when their oath to support the Constitution conflicts with an agreement to keep secrets?
Daniel Ellsberg was the first person in America to be arrested for leaking top secret documents which became known as "The Pentagon Papers." In so doing, he set in motion actions that led to the end of the Vietnam War and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. In this compelling lecture, Ellsberg shares what brought him to commit this historic act of truth telling, how he came to release the Pentagon Papers and the meaning of patriotism under a government intoxicated with secret-keeping. Yes, there are secrets that deserve being kept; but there are many that must be told, even at great personal risk. Ellsberg discusses the future, necessity, ethics, and perils of whistle-blowing.
According to Salon.com, Ellsberg is "arguably the greatest whistle-blower in American history." He is the author of four books: Papers on the War (1971), Risk, Ambiguity and Decision (2001), Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2002) and his forthcoming book The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner (on sale Dec. 5, 2017). He is also the subject of the 2010 Academy Award nominated feature length documentary film The Most Dangerous Man in the World. Ellsberg is also a key figure portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film “The Post,” about the Pentagon Papers, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, to be released in December 2017.
Tickets required: $7 general admission; free with Puget Sound ID. Get tickets at tickets.pugetsound.edu or at the Wheelock Information Center, 253.879.3100.
