Leaker-to-Terrorists Edward Snowden. Former Virginia Senator Robert F. Byrd. Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell. Die-hard Republicans who insist that the Affordable Care Act is "bad for us" for reasons that have nothing to do with health care. Maybe even that other leaker, Bradley Manning, due to be sentenced today.
What do they have in common? Well, they're all in the news lately for varying reasons. Snowden's father has been interviewed; Byrd died; McDonnell is apologizing for taking expensive gifts from people with axes to grind; the Republicans are just grinding their axes. And so forth.
More important: apparently, all these people "know" they have "done the right thing." (Those are the words Snowden's father uses with respect to his son.)
Any sensible person realizes, however, based on his own experience, what that really means. It means that they think or believe - fervently, logically, without reservation and with complete assurance believe - they've done the right thing.
But it's possible to believe in something that is not "right." Was Senator Byrd "right" about segregation? We can be certain, but we may be wrong. It's a risk we take when we profess certainty. Being wrong can affect many people's lives (Byrd, Snowden) or a few (McDonnell); we should expect penalties might be the result of being wrong, even if they aren't always.