UFOs? Real whistleblowers aren't afraid to reveal things the public deserves to know

Whistleblowing is about exposing information the public has a right to know, even if it means risking prosecution

Speaking to a House Oversight subcommittee this week, former intelligence official David Grusch made some pretty bold claims about a vast US government conspiracy involving contact with UFOs and non-human pilots.

And yet, Grusch refused to offer any hard evidence to substantiate these assertions, largely due to his fears of prosecution for sharing classified data in a public setting.

“As a former intelligence officer, I go to jail for revealing classified information,” he reportedly said.

He’s correct. He would risk prosecution for revealing classified information, but such a risk comes with the territory of being a whistleblower.

For instance, Chelsea Manning revealed US war crimes in Iraq. As such, she was prosecuted. Edward Snowden put a spotlight on US government spying programs aimed at its own citizens, and as a result, had his passport suspended on his way to Ecuador and was charged under the Epsionage Act. Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, humiliated governments across the world by publishing diplomatic cables, and since his arrest, he has been rotting away in a prison cell.

Grusch, on the other hand, says he has evidence of alien life. If proven, this would truly revolutionize the course of human history. And unlike whistleblowers exposing government misdeeds, Grusch would almost certainly have overwhelming support from the public, and even from within the government.

Fearing prosecution should be the last thing on the mind of someone claiming to have definitive proof we are not alone in the universe, and Mr. Grush’s concerns around saying “too much” suggests that there may be more earthly factors at work, with possibilities ranging from justifying a monstrous defense spending bill that just passed in the House, to the potential development of new aircraft.

Either way, until Grusch and others in the military and intelligence community are willing to sprout backbones and provide concrete evidence of alien life, they hardly deserve our attention, and most certainly don’t deserve the title of whistleblower.