A Wikileaks Dichotomy: I have mixed emotions about Wikileaks. Are Mr. Assange's motives as noble as he THINKS they are? I do not know. I feel differently toward his dumping hundreds of thousands of secret US State Department documents than I do about the POTENTIAL (although I have seen NOTHING yet) of dumping of big bank documents.
I simply do not see foreign policy as black and white. Who is Mr. Assange helping Al Qaeda? Would he REALLY like to be involved in Al Qaeda or live under an Islamic or any other religious tyranny? The US has been guilty for years of clandestine sometimes illegal behavior of that there is no doubt. My question to Mr. Assange is WHICH COUNTRY IS WITHOUT SIN and WHICH political organization is not guilty?
The calculation of foreign policy, while sometimes irreparably devastating and even murderous like Bush's Iraq invasion, I assess it in a lesser of evils modality. IF the dumping of those documents gets people killed then how is Assange different from those he purports to want bring to justice? IF what he has done gives assistance to Islamic radical or ANY radical organization from the right OR the left ANYWHERE than that is an egregious consequence which, I believe, should NOT happen. There are other ways to expose bad behavior of governments too numerous to mention here.
I would choose western culture and thought over what many other parts of the world have to offer. US illegal or torturous behavior is impossible to defend but, truthfully, those who would act against the US are NO paragons of virtue. To the contrary they kill at will and they kill THOUSANDS of innocents every single day. They even kill their own people.
Maybe Mr. Assange is not mature enough to see the folly of his beliefs and understand political realities. One does the best one can to move the arc toward justice making sure not to do the very thing for which we criticize power. While criticism of foreign affairs is good, IF it compromises the safety of us AND indeed the world what GOOD is IT? Western cultures are some of the freest on earth. It is why we grapple so ardently with the protection of civil liberties against the reality that those who want to do the most devastating harm to us do not think even TWICE about such things.
Religious fanatics always think heaven awaits. We who are much more inclined to reason and base our thought in a reality oriented universe with physical laws KNOW heaven does not await but destruction does. Anything nuclear in the hands of those who have been given permission by their religious leaders to use it is UNACCEPTABLE. Why would he court the danger of such a thing? What good will it do?
I think DIFFERENTLY about Assange exposing the banks. I FEEL the intense anger that so many feel when I try to understand the tornado of destruction these economic purveyors of greed and UNETHICAL behaviors have committed. They compromised an innocent public in pursuit of their own fortune and take unseemly bonuses at taxpayer expense. The taxpayer saved THEM but who saves the taxpayer? NO one.
Government we see -- EVEN Obama government to which I held out the HIGHEST hopes -- is absolutely IMPOTENT in the face of HUGE Wall Street money and the power of government it buys. I would LOVE nothing more than to see those at the top of this feeding frenzy chain of avarice and those who sold unmitigated fraudulent securities, hedge funds, junk mortgage securities as well as the securities rating companies with their fake ratings go to jail permanently.
The Congress will not even vote, nor does seemingly the president have the ability to wield power, to grant a measly extension of unemployment benefits during this holiday season. I KNOW Congress and the Wall Street banksters will have a FINE holiday filling their bloated bellies while the innocent among us go hungry and homeless after losing jobs, 401K retirements, pensions, health insurance and even, in some cases, because of those losses will forfeit their own lives from the loss of those necessities that sustain life. Many will even, I have no doubt, kill themselves and the banksters are responsible for ALL of it!
If Wikileaks exposes those banking powers who NEED to be punished for their dastardly deeds I look forward to seeing what documents Assange puts forth, if any, to accomplish that goal. At this point I see nothing. The more quickly these ambassadors of pain and hurt who are responsible for the economic ruination of millions know justice the better many of us will sleep at night as I know those who are responsible for all the sorrow of others absolutely do!
