We proudly speak about self governance as the pillar of freedom and liberty. We stand against authoritarianism and corrupt states where people can’t openly discuss their government. Democracy, they say.
But I’ve just heard that they've agreed to send Julian Assange to the US for his trial.
He’s the founder of wikileaks and he stands accused of treason by The United States for disseminating confidential state secrets. He spent the last seven years in isolation as a political refugee. The U.S. has now succeeded in extraditing him for a trial of aiding and abetting the enemy.
We should care because this is a person on trial for defending civil liberties. He shared information about the government that the public wanted to know… things that have been hidden from us or lied about. For example, videos of the military killing civilians, NSA surveillance, etc.
If this information is in our best interest, why is our government acting independently? Shouldn’t we, as a democracy, be able to choose whether or not we have been harmed before we punish someone? It seems that the only damage here is to the authority and secrecy of governing institutions.
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What kind of message does this send about our government? If you speak out, if you tell people what we are doing, you will be prosecuted, punished, and destroyed.
What information could possibly be worth keeping from its own citizens? If the leaked information might also hurt us, then we need to reconsider our domestic and foreign policies. Edward Snowden said it best, "we can not defend ourselves by appealing to what we are defending against… fear will not save us".
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If anything, please check out Julian’s Wikipedia, it’s quick. You can judge for yourself if you think he deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison or worse.
