This whole Wikileaks thing has me thinking about what are our American values. What is it that this country stands for today? How has the American dream evolved?
The reason Wikileaks has got me thinking about this is because I find myself wanting to live in a world where American citizens have a more clear picture of how our wars are being conducted. I find myself wanting to know how the leaders of the world really interact. It seems like this is all information that is desirable, as long as the benefit of having access to this information outweighs the risk.
It seems that we are learning, in real time, that the world is capable of getting on with things, in spite of the increasing transparency that places like Wikileaks provide. So I guess the question that I have for anyone who cares is this -- if the information contributes to our being informed citizens, and if the harm of the transparency is fairly modest, then why not support the Wikileaks project? I find myself placing the value of being a better informed citizen over the risks that come with the transparency. To me it is sort of like gun rights, where the 'right to bear arms' comes with a huge risk to the family that owns weapons. We support the right in spite of its all-too-often tragic consequences. Why isn't the desire to understand how our government really works just as American a sentiment as the second amendment?
The reason Wikileaks has got me thinking about this is because I find myself wanting to live in a world where American citizens have a more clear picture of how our wars are being conducted. I find myself wanting to know how the leaders of the world really interact. It seems like this is all information that is desirable, as long as the benefit of having access to this information outweighs the risk.
It seems that we are learning, in real time, that the world is capable of getting on with things, in spite of the increasing transparency that places like Wikileaks provide. So I guess the question that I have for anyone who cares is this -- if the information contributes to our being informed citizens, and if the harm of the transparency is fairly modest, then why not support the Wikileaks project? I find myself placing the value of being a better informed citizen over the risks that come with the transparency. To me it is sort of like gun rights, where the 'right to bear arms' comes with a huge risk to the family that owns weapons. We support the right in spite of its all-too-often tragic consequences. Why isn't the desire to understand how our government really works just as American a sentiment as the second amendment?
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