Western culture has, since its inception, prided itself on the idea that they were free. Enter Julian Assange, enter Wikileaks and the dissolution of that narrative. Wikileaks and Assange, along with their collaborators have lifted the veil of secrecy and stripped away the warm blanket of perceived liberty that kept the west comfortable at night.
Even if you can ignore the particulars of what Wikileaks has done to Western culture, the concept of freedom, as it was was once understood, is no longer intact. Now, what was once only suspicion or fear, that the governments of the nation were conspiring and their leaders were making secret bargains, has been confirmed. Wikileaks has confirmed those suspicions with brutal detail.
Some people comforted themselves with the fact that the details weren’t known. They could use that lack of awareness to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what was happening at the hands of their own government. They could maintain their illusion that everything was alright.
The threat of Wikileaks should not be seen as solely viable to Western culture. Oppressive cultures the world over should be fearful of the cleansing light that a movement like Wikileaks brings. Could a government keep secret something like Tiananmen Square? Dos Erres?
In our modern, technological, turned-on age, the potential for insidious corruption and pervasive manipulation is great. At no other time has there been such potential for the distribution of information and truth to as many people. There also has never been so much at risk regarding who controls that information.
Wikileaks strips control of information from oppressors and, for that reason, it can’t be stressed enough how vital the organization’s work is today.
