In Support of Julian Assange

I tend to have this very odd belief that the government is suppose to be open with its citizens. Maybe I’m cynical after the events of the 28 Pages among others, but the government which has the power to hide information from you is clearly trying to hide something.

I have only rarely seen examples of the government needing to hide information, however, these examples are so far apart they do not justify the power to hide information. Call me crazy, but the power to hide information is straight out of books like 1984 and places like the USSR. This is also why I do not have any sympathy for the government when they have information leaked.

Assange’s work with Chelsea Manning through Wikileaks is something that should be honored. The question should not be rather he is arrested or not, it should be rather he people he exposed are arrested or not.

While not as awful as the mass surveillance Snowden reveled, what they did revel was still disturbing. This includes American military men in Iraq gleefully killing citizens as well as first respondents and journalists. This is first degree murder, plain and simple.

However, the same government he reveled was evil did not like the fact he exposed there evil. As such, Manning has been tried and convicted of treason before she was pardoned by President Obama, and Assange has been trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy for years.

Despite promises from the government of Ecuador’s government, they have slowly put there foot down. Including previously cutting off his access to the internet, and now kicking him out entirely. Again, despite the previous words of the government of Ecuador saying he’s allowed to stay there as long as he likes.

Of course, there is nothing separating Assange, Snowden, and Manning from those such as Daniel Ellsberg and other famous journalists. The book Most Dangerous documents the reactions people had to Ellsberg and the similarities between them and the government reactions to Wikileaks are striking. Showing, once and for all, that history does repeat itself.

You can also purchase the Pentagon Papers here, the Wikileaks of its day.

Lastly, just make your voices heard. It is clear the whistle blowers have much more support than the government. The people simply do not know the power they possess.