Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Wikileak this!

"In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth. In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble." -Ron Paul
"They're closing in on the wikileaks guy, but not Osama Bin Laden. That's really all you need to know." -Blaine Capatch
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein
I'm somewhat fascinated with this Wikileaks drama. I'll say from the outset that as it stands now, I'm supportive of Julian Assange and what he's trying to do. But, I can be swayed. So if you disagree, please, sway me. But I think there are some questions this drama brings up. I'd like to ask those questions.
Will the increase of information available on the internet force openness within governments? Or will governments just go to greater lengths to hide their actions?
What if a government could no longer "cover-up" because the accurate information would be readily available soon enough anyway?
How long before the internet becomes so tightly controlled by governments that it becomes useless for anything other than propaganda? Is Wikileaks moving us in that direction?
Could the internet be regulated in that way even if they tried? Wikileaks is a good example of the proliferation of information despite opposition. Just check out how many servers are now hosting Wikileaks.
 I'm not just talking about America. But I do think America should be an example of openness and honesty in governance. The sad truth is that American history is rife with examples of secrets, deception, covert operations all over the world. Just doing our share, really. Every developed nation is partaking in the fun.
 But what if more and more, our knowledge is increased because someone wasn't afraid to tell us what's going on? I guess, all government operations could be done word-of-mouth with no incriminating documents. But perhaps not. And if not, would that force honesty within world governments?
I understand that some people are upset. Bill O' Reilly has called for Julian Assange to be executed. But I also understand that exposing what's done in the dark is the only way to hold the "doer" accountable. Governments aren't accountable to the people at all. Because we can't know what it is that they do. Until now.
Right now, I couldn't care less about enemies and wars and terrorists. What Americans don't seem to understand, is that terrorists do not have to kill anybody do their job. We just have to live in terror. If we live in terror, the terrorists win. Every time we let another one of our rights be subverted in the name of safety, the terrorist wins. Airport body scanners. TSA employees feeling you up. Color-coded terror alert systems. The Patriot Act. Homeland Security. It's as though the terrorists have employed these measures themselves. What do they do? They keep us afraid.
We live in terror.
(I live in Canada. Substantially less terror here. I ask myself why? Canada is free. Canada has bikinis and Baby Gap and rock n roll. Why don't they hate Canada?)
Where was I? I've heard it said that information made available through Wikileaks puts us in danger. To much openness puts us in danger of losing military advantage. Losing lives. That remains to be seen. I can tell you that we've lost 5,644 military lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's more than 9/11, The U.S. Embassy Bombings, and the USS Cole attack put together (Osama Bin Laden is believed responsible for all those attacks).
I am more interested in honesty. Openness. Information. Not just in the U.S. In the world. I'm ready for a disgruntled Brit to unlock the U.K. A smart Jew to expose Israel. I want the information on Iraq, Russia, Canada, Sweden, China, Greenland... If you can't hide anything, then there is nothing to hide. What would happen if documents from all over the world were released? World War 3? Perhaps. I certainly wouldn't want that. But, I can't stand government secrecy. Maybe if they did what I voted them in to do, but by-and-large...they don't. So I want to know what it is that they do...Do.

Until they can tell me, I'll keep perusing the Wikileaks files. 
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