The closing questions of the interview asked Kiriakou to address two people: the child he had been, and anyone now considering doing what he did.
To the boy
Asked what he would tell the little boy who had told his father years earlier that he wanted to be a spy, his answer was: always tell the truth and do the right thing — which, he added, is exactly what he was raised to do.[1]
He then generalised it into the proposition he says he repeats constantly. We all know in our gut the difference between right and wrong; it is just a basic human understanding. The question is whether we then do what is right, or whether we do what is easy — what is expedient.[1][2]
So what he would tell the boy is that his parents and grandparents were right: do what is right and always tell the truth.[2]
He attributes his reach among younger audiences to the same thing. He believes he resonates with people roughly between fifteen and thirty because he tells the truth, and because that has become rare.[2]
Would he do it again
Asked whether, if he had to do it over, he would, Kiriakou called it an easy question: oh, yes. The only thing he would do differently is have a lawyer sitting right beside him. That is it — but yes, he would absolutely do it again.[3]
The qualification is not incidental; it is the single piece of advice he says he gives every would-be whistleblower, having done it backwards himself.
The closing words
Asked for his last words to the audience, he addressed anyone thinking of blowing the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse, illegality or threats to public health or public safety — the legal definition he uses throughout — and told them they are not alone. There is an entire community of supporters out there waiting for them, and they should not be afraid to reach out and ask for help or guidance. The support, he said, is there and it is waiting.[4]