Right now, many governments are taking steps against Julian Assange and his organization, Wikileaks, which in my opinion, can only be classified as vengeful.
If you haven’t heard, Wikileaks is an organization which publishes leaked documents which others want kept under wraps. Recently, these have included a huge number of documents from the US government in three batches – regarding the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and international diplomatic cables.
Among the Americans I’ve spoken with, Assange has been dubbed both a hero and a traitor, depending on who is talking. One thing many fail to consider is that Assange is NOT an American. He is an Australian. This brings up the question of first, how he could be a traitor to the US if he has no allegiance to the country.
Personally, I think the publications he’s made will do a wealth of good to show candidly to the world, what goes on behind closed doors so to speak. Wars are never pretty, but he has shown some compelling evidence that US officials have had a strong hand in whitewashing what we’re doing abroad. Of course, the diplomatic cables will stir up a tempest. These sorts of cables are not written for the public or foreign nationals to see. Ever. They represent the candid, uncensored back room kind of talk which is needed between diplomats and the nations they represent. Their publication will go a long way to help the world better understand international politics and the people involved. While it does cast some of the players in a negative light at times, I think the overall effect is a positive one. They show honest opinions and views on the real workings in the world.
The same goes for the two sets of war documents. There are some serious items in there which need to be addressed, whether by legal means or by influencing future elections and other actions.
I am what I consider a Patriot. I love my country. But this is not to say I think my country is perfect. As a Citizen I have both a role and a stake in what my country does. As such, I’d like to know what it is doing and why. This is how we, as a nation make improvements. The United States are composed of Citizens and the government of this nation is a democratic republic. We are not a dictatorship, and by law we are not an oligarchy. Every Citizen has the right, nay, a duty to be involved in our government. In our form of government, we do this by electing people among ourselves, to represent our interests and act as our proxies.
The publication of this wealth of information does more to inform the American People than it has harmed our representatives and their underlings. Let us, the entire Citizenry of these United States, wake up and pay attention to these documents. Let us learn from them and make the best possible decisions in electing our future representatives. Let our current chosen leaders also take note and also take note of our attention here so that they, too may make better decisions.