Recently Wikileaks was the target of a series of DDOS attacks designed to cripple the site devoted to keeping people honest by reporting their misdeeds. One of the most vocal, and powerful members of the coalition against Wikileaks, and its founder Julian Assange, was no other than the United States government.
In addition to the DOS attacks, numerous companies began breaking their legs in an attempt to run as far from Wikileaks as fast as they could. Among them were Amazon.com, Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal. Nearly all of them due to political pressure.
And now 4Chan has turned its attention to the Wikileaks cause.
And a collective "Oh fuck..." was heard by everyone who knows what Anonymous is truly capable of.
I am not excusing 4chan for any malicious acts they commit, I am not praising any actions they take. What I am doing, however, is asking why the US government is so eager to take down a website devoted to unmasking criminals by posting evidence of their crimes.
Is it because the US has such a sordid history of spying on its own citizenry? Of using human guinea pigs illegally? Of destroying democratic governments that are hostile to US industries? Maybe its because the US has a track record of routinely violating international and domestic laws with impunity?
The answer, of course, is "Yes, those are all the reasons that the US government is dedicated to taking down Wikileaks." The truth of the matter is that democracy in the US is the exact scenario that Plato railed against. The circus that we call our government is a festival of corruption, crime, and contempt for the masses. And Wikileaks threatens to expose every single dirty deal, every single transaction will be exposed to the light of day and the corrupt will not allow that.
There are many who will rail against what I have to say here, calling me "unpatriotic" and a host of other names, slurs, and slights.
To them I say morality cannot be negotiable. The immoral claim that politics are amoral and thus are able to rationalize evil. The road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions.
The fury about Wikileaks, and the rush to destroy it, are both proof of how powerful a tool it is for the public good. There will be numerous specious arguments made about "national security" but ultimately the truth is that the guilty must be protected at any cost. They paid handsomely for their Congresspeople, and they want a return on that investment.
