WIKILEAKS

     Freedom of speech... A concept that seems so simple. However, with the advancements in technology and the widespread of information, it has become such a complicated topic. Especially when it comes to politics. What should the general population have access to in regards to government documents? Is it in the people's best interest to know what the government is doing? Wikileaks believes everyone has the right to know the truth.
     My personal opinion is that yes, we do deserve to know what is happening. Sure, this might cause panic among the people. Panic is inevitable. Natural disaster? Panic! Terrorist attack? Panic! There is absolutely no way to prevent panic in every single scenario, so why should we receive filtered information for the sake of preventing panic?
     Unfiltered news is also very crucial when it comes to governing our governments. If our leaders are hiding information, it's time to ask ourselves why. Yes, I believe there's obviously information that needs to be kept classified for national security purposes. This type of information is not what I'm referring to. If we do not govern our leaders, if we do not know certain facts to make our own decisions, then how do we know we are being led in a moral direction? Examine the facts of WW2 and the genocide of the Jews. They did not question what their leaders decisions, they just did as they were told. If they had stopped and observed the facts, if they had stopped to examine why they were being told to do the things they were, they might have fought back and saved unimaginable numbers of people.
     Another common issue we see with freedom of speech is the use of other people's work. Or using other people's creations to create a piece of art of your own. This is a huge issue legally. What is allowed? Why is it or is it not? Why? Have we not been using other's creations to create our own all throughout history? The invention of the steam engine is a perfect example. It started with Heron. From there, Papin made some modifications. Then Torricelli, Newcomen, and finally Watt. They all took the idea before them and improved it. Did anybody complain about theft of information? Nope.
     I see no issue with taking something and modifying it into our own creation. You are transforming it into something new. Another reason I believe this is because we use other's information to create research papers, blogs, etc. As long as we cite our sources, there's no issue. Why can we not do this for everything we create? Make a mashup, cite the artist. Quote someone, cite the author. They are still getting credit for their work. Or is it all about the money?
     In the end, what is the point of sharing information if we cannot use that information?