Julian Assange is not the first whistleblower or journalist
being punished by the government, and he will not be the last case that will be
seen. When the government is as powerful as it is, they could withhold
information from the public, and some people believe that as citizens we should
be informed about all details of our government.
A whistleblower is a person
who informs society about an illegal or illicit activity that someone or an
organization has done. This person is usually working at that organization and
then gives their information to a journalist who would tell our community about
this wrongdoing. This is a very critical and necessary job because it allows
for the public to have a full understanding of their government and what they
are voting for.
When the government tries to hide important information from
the public it does not allow the citizens to make a fully educated decision in
what they are supporting or voting for. All government activities and information
should be public if the information is true and does not cause any serious harm
from releasing it.
Julian Assange believed in openness and freedom for all people
which is why he created Wikileaks. It was a website that was meant to give the
public the ability to know all the information that the government or other powers
were trying to hide. This kind of website is vital to keep not only the
community educated but also keep in check all the high powers and the
government. When the government is left to their own demise without informing
the public it could easily lead to a dystopian society with a “Big Brother” type
of government.
The fact that people are being punished for sharing truthful
information about the government is very worrisome especially when the data
only harms the power. When a person is punished by the government solely because
they revealed harmful details about it seems already dystopian. The idea that if
something is so powerful that they can not only hide the harm or negative
information about them but punish the people who try to find this truth is
extremely alarming and should be questioned. The government should not be able
to restrict data about its wrong doings as long as if the information would not
cause direct danger to anyone. If we as citizens are allowed to vote, then we
should have access to all information that could alter our thoughts involving
the government. A person who has important information about the government that
does not harm anyone and that they believe is true should be able to share this
with the public without repercussions.
Julian Assange believed in this idea of right
of knowledge shown by his work to create Wikileaks. Through Bradley Manning, Wikileaks
released multiple documents revealing war crimes done by our own side. If another
country’s war crimes against our government was released it would not have been
approach in the way this was. I question that our government would see nothing
wrong with what Wikileaks did if it discovered important information that would
help our government compared to harming. It is terrifying that our government
has the ability to hide from us whatever they deem not necessary for public
view.
There have been and will be countless people like Julian Assange who were
punished solely for educating society about the wrongdoings of our main powers.
I hope that the government does not find a way to eradicate whistleblowers
because without these people our society would be left in the dark and would
most likely devolve us back to more dependence. We as a society have worked to overall
educate ourselves to a point where we are able to understand the details of our
government and political issues, and allowing the government to withhold impactful
information from us is restricting us from growing and learning as a society.
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