Wikileaks, Good or Bad for America?

Did Wikileaks do the right thing by exposing the content of private government documents?  Does it hurt our foreign policy, weakening the ability for the U.S. to negotiate in good faith?  Does it strengthen our democratic system, allowing for a more informed public to hold its officials more accountable?  In short, was more harm done than good, or not?  We can argue the wisdom of this decision until we’re blue in the face.  Perhaps only future generations will truly know.

Nevertheless, I think I understand their intent, the spirit with which they did this.  If we are to error, is it not better to error on the side of openness and transparency rather than on the side of secretiveness and/or actual deceit?  The temptation for all governments, of whatever size, type, or persuasion, is to excuse itself from prying eyes, openness and accountability; it wants free reign to do according to its own whims and wishes, without needing to explain or justify itself, believing that the end will surely justify the means.   (It’s just such an attitude in the previous administration, in my humble opinion, that so readily took us to war with Iraq; a war we started, falsely, wrongly, or naively justified, and now find so difficult to get out of!)

A healthy democracy requires a well-informed populace.  A strong democracy will hold its leaders accountable for their actions and decisions.  Thus, a thriving democracy is an open one.  During an election season, for example, the people ought to know who’s who; who are the powerful companies and particular interest groups that spend huge amounts of money on special political ads.  The people need to know who’s real interests are being promoted and why?  Accountability!

By contrast, all totalitarian and oppressive governments are secretive.  They manage and manipulate the flow of information.  Propaganda is their favorite means of “informing” the public.  Half-truths and outright lies are generally the substance of their content.  The public is generally kept in the dark as to what is really the case regarding crucial events, critical decisions, and the circumstances surrounding them by its government and their leaders.  Totalitarian governments are accountable to no one but themselves.  As an example, I give you North Korea!

There is a fine line between confidentiality and subversive secrecy.  It is true, governments and their bureaucratic machineries need some protection respecting confidentiality, privacy, if you will.  Yes, it’s possible that Wikileaks may have gone too far.  Yes, it may have caused much embarrassment to our political leaders.  But perhaps that’s one of the strengths of our democracy.  We’ll survive our embarrassment.

America prides itself in its strong values of freedom, justice, democracy and equality for all.  This being the case, we are obliged to maintain a policy of openness, truth, honesty, and integrity.  And so, with eyes wide open and with fresh clarity, newly informed as we are, we the people can review what our leaders have been really saying and doing.  We can hold them accountable and ask ourselves: Do we approve?  Are our leaders doing right by us?  In short, now that we know what we know, we are in a better position to continue to demand that our leaders maintain—act and speak with—integrity, and not just for appearance sake.