A diatribe-like missive on the dissemination of legitimate information
Truth. It’s a big word. Big enough that we have put a taboo on it, knowingly or unknowingly, so that we are made to believe that ordinary people such as ourselves are too weak to appreciate or fathom it. It is due to our own doubts about our mental stability that we believe our minds to be too fragile to handle the knowledge of government actions – actions that are not widely publicized in today’s media. I would like my audience to know that I am writing this harangue not to begin a revolt, though I doubt I could reach that many people or emotionally arouse them to that point for that matter, but to express my deepest concern about two very important points I have noted during the course of events occurring within the past three months: the failure of our media to expose or even deliver the information it was created to distribute, and the unfair governmental attack on a small organization wishing to do just that job.
Thou shalt not bear false witness. The Ninth of the Ten Commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai should be remembered at this point. Since our childhood, we have been taught neither to lie nor to withhold the whole truth. It is much simpler to tell the truth because you do not need to remember it. Lying creates a web and that web can very easily kill the person who created it, or at the very least, trap them in their own lies. So then why is it that our own Government is withholding information from us? I would like to bring up the famous Gettysburg Address given by President Abraham Lincoln where he stated, “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us … that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. This beloved land of ours was founded on the principle of brotherhood and shared beliefs about our God-given rights. The founding fathers sought shelter from the oppression of the King and created a government where the People’s voice was the voice of authority and where the Government had a duty to protect the unalienable rights given to us by God – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Through this belief came the Declaration of Independence and liberation from injustice soon followed. The founders of our nation agreed that the Government derives its rights from the consent of the people it seeks to govern and protect. If that Government cannot live up to its expectations, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”. I restate what I had said earlier – this is not an address to inspire revolt. It is simply a statement bearing facts that the people have a right to reproach and hold the Government liable for its misdeeds. How can the People hold their Government accountable for anything, though, if we are not given information about its actions? It is the sole purpose of the media to inform the Public about the actions of the Government and the Society with which it interacts. We have a right to know what is going on around us because it involves us – directly or indirectly. Leaders may justify Government secrets by parroting the media ethics regarding public interest. In reality, this is just a cover-up used to keep us sensitized to the point that any “leaked” information will scare us or anything graphic or unethical that our Government is involved in will generate unimaginable chaos in the nation. We underestimate our own strength and therefore so does the Government. We don’t stop to comprehend that we placed leaders in their positions to act on our behalf – to act on the Public’s voice and opinion. We obviously need protection from terrorists and anarchists. Do we need protection from actions that our own Government takes? Shouldn’t the Government theoretically, and in this case idealistically, be transparent since it is for the people, by the people, and of the people? Isn’t that the point of journalistic integrity, to tell us what the Government is trying to keep secret so that we may bring it out in the open and do something about it? Instead, our media prefers to bombard us with trivial stories about celebrities gone wild and other relatively meaningless headlines meant to distract us from what is really going on in the world. Moreover, if by chance the reporters get their hands on an informative and invaluable news story, it is torn apart by propaganda and filled with lies for the sake of political ambition and preservation of the Status Quo. News is supposed to be delivered unbiased, yet even the simplest of people understand the political stances of news networks, that CNN is left wing while FOX is right wing. Political games distract us from understanding the reality of our situation. We have created this image of ourselves as being too weak to understand the workings of the great politicians who claim to be the servants of our nation. Liars not only go to the White House, they also invade Congress - liars that have too much time on their hands, not enough knowledge in their brains, and greed on their mind. They have no respect for the public and create ineffective laws and policies with loopholes purposely attached for the benefit of lobbyist groups. Why do we keep sending people like this to run our nation? More importantly, what separates them from us? Certainly there are many among us that are as qualified if not more to do what those liars do. But of course no one will take action because big business employs us, favors the liars, and in return gets the profits while the rest of us sit entrapped in a bubble of lies and secrecy – a ploy used by the Government to shut us out and keep us ignorant of their inner workings. Our Government has become corrupted but it is still relatively virtuous compared to other Governments in the world. The People still have some power – even if it is not recognized or acted upon enough.
I don’t consider the public to be the ultimate victims of this scheme. We have power in our hands given to us by the founding fathers – our First Amendment Right – Freedom of speech and press. We have a right to speak out against actions that our leaders are taking and “Congress shall make no law… prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. Of course, public interest and safety is a major factor in how far we can push the envelope so to speak on this amendment. As long as victims are not created, we are free to speak our minds for the sake of justice. We have been given more freedom than other unfortunate citizens – yet we take it for granted. Instead of being empowered by freedom, we prefer to sit in our bubble, stick our heads in the sand like proverbial ostriches, and let the rest of the world go to hell while our Government continues to degrade itself. We are not brave enough to take action yet when a small organization begins to publish information regarding the misdeeds of our Government and that of other nations, we begin to reproach it and turn our backs while our Government reacts with brash threats of extradition and charges of treason. Why is it that we complain about being kept in a dark room yet, when we receive news, become angry at the organization for publicizing the failure of our Government? If anything, we should join the cause and show our Government that we are neither frail nor stupid and we will hold our leaders accountable. Wikileaks has not generated the numerous supporters insofar as was expected, not because we condemn its purpose, but because the media and our leaders tell us the organization is anarchist. They feed us lie after lie about how it is hurting innocent people and victimizing other Governments who are just trying to protect their people. There has been no proof shown by the Government of such wrong doing while there has been proof of the Government committing horrible acts or letting such acts occur. As for the accusation of preaching anarchy, Wikileaks is simply an organization that believes Governments should exist to help people and gain public trust by being open – quite the opposite of anarchy. People react negatively when a video is leaked about our soldiers killing innocent civilians in Iraq, or Bhagdad, or Afghanistan but what they forget is people in those countries witness this every day. To those civilians, this is the atrocious face of our military. No matter how enthusiastically we support our troops, those citizens will believe differently because the actions of soldiers are louder than words of politicians. Instead of reforming their actions, the Government and its leaders prefer to battle the small organization and go after the co-founder for accusations completely unrelated to the organization. Why? Because when a big organization like our Government receives a slap to its face, it retaliates by slapping the face of the smaller organization. It is petty and childish but since public support of Wikileaks isn’t strong enough, the Government will continue to try to bring this organization, which is doing a huge favor to the world, down. Politics is the main driving force behind this case and controversial topics continue to arise but I believe, and a lot of others seem to agree with this opinion, if our Government was indeed doing nothing wrong, the leaders wouldn’t be fighting this hard to bring Wikileaks down. Looking at the actions currently taking place, I’d say our Government has committed numerous offences and is trying to shut Wikileaks down before any more of its transgressions are leaked to the public. Instead of worrying about putting Julian Assange in solitary confinement, our President and the heads of our intelligence services should be spending time and energy fixing, or rather reforming their actions on a national and global scale. It is high time that our Government and the People to take a good look at what we are doing and try to come clean with ourselves. Every organization has secrets but a Nation should not keep secrets from its own people. We deserve to know what is happening around us – it is our right because it is our Government.
I know that we have to travel a great distance and spend a lot of time and energy trying to reduce the corruption in our Government but if we don’t start now, it will only get worse. We deserve better and we must rise with the occasion. Lying has gotten us this far. If we continue to lie and deceive, our future looks bleak. The actions and support of the public is sin qua non to creating a medium for the nurturing of justice. With justice and freedom as our foundations, we will be one step closer to becoming the great Nation we were meant to be – a city upon a hill.
Anusha Ali
P.S Isn't it a bit disappointing that Wikileaks has released more useful information in the short time since it started operating than all of the world's media combined? Just goes to show what a horribly pathetic job the media does and how much the world really needs Julian Assange.
