Poll: Wikileaks: Good or bad?

[TimeLord]

Everyone has the right to know everything.

That includes anything hidden by the government!

I don't think the goverment should be able to hide much, but you have to admit there is sensitive information. Troop movements would be an obvious one. Had I any control over the matter nothing would be considered sensitive forever, and eventually all information would be released, it would then be up to people reviewing later to hold the goverment accountable for things it shouldn't have hidden in the first place.

I don't mean stuff like personal information or (like you say) military manoeuvres. I mean stuff they purposefully hide from us like Area 51, government spending, whether David Cameron picks his nose with his left or right hand. That kind of thing.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

I don't necessarily see it as something horrible in itself. Being that the documents are not beyond secret (a low-level classification), they'll provide little more than uncomfortable exposure of what happens over there. Fine. Whatever.

What I fear is that WikiLeaks ends up becoming a collection of documents showing occurrences from the side of the American soldiers, and no more, used for smearing the military as though it were actively hunting down women and children.

This. I'm all for releasing all the information so people can no. I'm tired of the government concealing so much information, but I think just releasing information on how bad the military can be without showing the rest of the picture can be just as worse.

But despite this possibility, I still think Wikileaks right to free speech.

I'm a huge proponent of free speech, but at the same time I'm also a fan realism. Being realistic tells me that regardless of what horrible things are leaked there will always be people that ignore, willingly or unwillingly the leaked information.

But even then, can a country or world full of people really be trusted to act rationally in the face of life changing news? Aliens, for example. Let's say they're real and that the world's governments are covering it up. Might be best that they do. Can you imagine the mass hysteria that would happen if they didn't?

The truth is going to be revealed some day. Why delay it, and in the process lose people's trust once they know you've been lying to them all this time? And how is our society ever going to progress if we are treated like children who can't handle harsh or shocking truths? The reason society closes their ears when they hear something that breaks their little ignorance bubble, because they've been kept in that bubble for their entire life. It's like raising a children and never telling him that the world is unfair and shielding him from every single form of pain or disappointment. There's going to be that day where the truth is going to reveal it's ugly head, and that kid isn't going to mature enough to deal with it.

 

[tlozoot]

I think they only post stuff deemed inconsequential to national security, but of course the government will claim otherwise if it makes them look bad.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

I don't necessarily see it as something horrible in itself. Being that the documents are not beyond secret (a low-level classification), they'll provide little more than uncomfortable exposure of what happens over there. Fine. Whatever.

What I fear is that WikiLeaks ends up becoming a collection of documents showing occurrences from the side of the American soldiers, and no more, used for smearing the military as though it were actively hunting down women and children.

Well put. The thing is though that Wikileaks doesn't choose sides. They just release any secret documents. Period. People like you and I are the ones that choose to say if it is bad or good.

 

[Fox242]

WikiLeaks is overstepping its boundaries. Who knows when they might release documents that directly threaten the national security of its countries or the basic security of individuals. Some documents are top secret for a reason. Someone might wind getting harmed or killed by this kind of behavior. But that's just my opinion.

 

[manaman]

Everyone has the right to know everything.

That includes anything hidden by the government!

I don't think the goverment should be able to hide much, but you have to admit there is sensitive information. Troop movements would be an obvious one. Had I any control over the matter nothing would be considered sensitive forever, and eventually all information would be released, it would then be up to people reviewing later to hold the goverment accountable for things it shouldn't have hidden in the first place.

I don't mean stuff like personal information or (like you say) military manoeuvres. I mean stuff they purposefully hide from us like Area 51, government spending, whether David Cameron picks his nose with his left or right hand. That kind of thing.

It goes back to oversight. The US goverment for example is rarely held accountable for digressions because of a lack of interest by the general population. It is only once their general ways of life are threatened that people are moved to action. With some tweeks to the checks and balances system of the goverment to remove some of the uncontested powers that various parts of the goverment hold we could rely a little more on each branch to regulate the others which would make most of the reasons for information release moot.

Area 51 through goes back to research. It's my opinion that keeping what they are testing secret is important, as it is related to defense as well. Knowing a concept is possible if the fist step in them unraveling how to do it themselves. Best way to keep something secret is to not mention any part of it.

 

[RatRace123]

Eh, I think I can see both sides, though in the end I think it'd be too dangerous for national security. So I guess I'm neutral on it... for now but I fear it'll have to be removed some time in the future.

The government shouldn't hide secrets, but military strategies, I think an exception should be made.