[Reader-list] WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix

Fri Aug 20 13:47:59 IST 2010

Thanks for posting this Nilankur.

On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM, nilankur <nilankur at cultureunplugged.com>wrote:

>
>
> http://truthseekers.cultureunplugged.com/truth_seekers/2010/08/wikileaks-open-source-of-truth-in-the-global-matrix.html
>
>  WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix
>
> Nozomi Hayase  |  12.Aug.10
>
> Like many others, when I was young I looked up to larger than life heroes
> depicted in animation and films. The world of these super-heroes was made up
> of both the villains and those that take on evil forces of greed and power
> to fight for ordinary people. I remember a close friend in college once said
> "I wish I was independently wealthy, so that I wouldn't have to worry about
> making money and could become a superman to help humanity." His voice
> occasionally arises in me when I face the many injustices and social
> problems in the world.
>
> The release of an explosive 2007 video by a shadowy organization called
> WikiLeaks titled 'Collateral Murder' recently shook the world. Opening with
> a quote from Orwell’s 1984, it depicted from the point of view of Americans
> in an Apache helicopter the gunning down of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad
> street. The news of this WikiLeaks group  taking on powerful government
> secrecy and corruption of power somehow reminded me of my childhood heroes.
>
> In its three years of existence, WikiLeaks has begun to change the way
> governments, media and corporations operate by offering an transnational
> safe haven for whistleblowers from all over the world. In the wake of this
> video release, Julian Assange, the main public face of the organization
> stepped forward into the limelight. He shared how the purpose of releasing
> this footage was to show what the face of modern war really looks like
> (Assange, 2010). The public profile of WikiLeaks was heightened considerably
> by this event and as the controversy boiled over, it raised questions for
> many about government secrecy and importance of transparency as well as
> legal and moral accountability of powerful institutions.
>
> When videos and documentation such as this are leaked that give a glimpse
> of the vast world of secrets routinely hidden from the public by those in
> power, one may wonder what else about our world and government is being
> hidden from us? This uncomfortable question makes the film The Matrix even
> more real to those that really think about it. “The Matrix is everywhere, it
> is all around us, even now in this very room …It is the world that has been
> pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth!” said Morpheus to Neo
> (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). I began to question why so much of the truth
> has been systematically being kept from us. What was behind the all
> pervasive efforts to keep the masses blind to so many important events?
>
>
>
>
> The word matrix means a framework from which something grows. In the film
> it is portrayed as a system that enslaves and “grows” humanity for its own
> purposes. What is this Matrix that surrounds us today and that we are so
> blind to?  We believe that we live in a democracy, where the rule of law
> exists to protect all victims of deceit and crime. Yet we see an ever
> increasing gap between the poor and rich, perpetual wars and spiraling
> levels of corruption, which governments and corporations are often party to.
> How has it come to this?
>
>
> The rapid industrialization of Western civilization and now materialism in
> the form of consumerism have been shaping every aspect of our lives.
> Information itself has become a commodity to be manipulated for private
> gain. Journalists around the world, especially those who try to expose the
> root of conflicts in the Middle East are increasingly met with severe
> censorship. Freedom of expression in Western societies is also becoming
> somewhat of an illusion in this time of government and corporate secrecy.
> Assange and others like him began to see how thoroughly the
> national-security state was embedded in all aspects of life. Leading up to
> the founding of WikiLeaks, Assange became aware that this institutionalized
> system intrinsically pushes against altruistic human virtues. “He saw human
> struggle not as left versus right, or faith versus reason, but as individual
> versus institution.” and that “truth, creativity, love and compassion are
> corrupted by institutional hierarchies, and by ‘patronage networks’”
> (Khatchadourian, 2010). I began to see this interlocking system that Assange
> referred to as similar to what is portrayed in the Matrix films: a system
> that depends on keeping the mass of humanity unaware of its true nature, all
> the while farming their life energy.
>
> "Anyone who hasn’t unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix,
> they are everyone and they are no one ….  They are the gatekeepers. They are
> guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys” (Wachowski &
> Wachowski, 1999). We are part of this system that holds few options for its
> members beyond what serves it. It leaves little room to even question the
> existence of the system itself. After graduation, my college friend
> struggled with society's expectations of a man's obligation within that
> narrow prescription. I have now begun to see myself in that same struggle.
> The system seems to slowly rip off the wings of our humanity, the farther we
> move into adulthood. He, like many others, became numbed to his pain as he
> became busy pursuing a career path, preparing to accept what the world
> handed down to him, and eventually to perform unknowingly as an agent of the
> system.
>
> In the Matrix film, the protagonist Neo was allegedly the chosen One, whose
> destiny was to attain freedom from the system and dismantle it, There have
> been real life heroes in history trying to change its course. Dr. King,
> Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy revealed that their destinies were to fight
> against an unjust system. They were heroes that showed a way to imagine a
> new future. Yet one by one they disappeared from sight. I saw apathy and
> cynicism spreading in people. I saw the armored shell of fear that many so
> often put around themselves. It became harder to strive for something
> higher, as if the death of heroes killed something in them. I realized how
> important it is to do something.
>
>
> "We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time
> that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This
> [WikiLeaks] is something that I find meaningful and satisfying. That is my
> temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping
> people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards".
>
> Right -WikiLeaks.org founder Julian Assange, discusses why he started the
> WikiLeaks project.
>
>
>                    Photo Courtesy - commons.wikimedia.org
>
> What can be overwhelming is to realize how so many of our problems have
> become transnational, especially in light of how the interlocking world
> economy is teetering on a precipice. Today with the WTO and NAFTA, corporate
> power has extended its reach beyond borders, transforming economies,
> cultures and nations on their terms. The Matrix is global, expanding into
> and transforming whole cultures, consuming local and state economies with
> debt and monetary control, plugging them one by one into a kind of
> blood-sucking machine.
>
>
>
> The question arose, how can people free themselves from this global Matrix?
> How can citizens counteract or create an alternative to this system?
> Sometimes it seems there is little that ordinary people can do. In the
> darkness that hovers over the world, the actions of that nonprofit truth
> haven WikiLeaks, shines a light of possibility for a new direction.
>
> This secret group in a way employs a kind of espionage. It is working for
> the common people from a global perspective and differs from traditional
> forms like the CIA, which was developed based on security and preservation
> of the nation state, as against another state. “We’re not interested in
> national security. We’re interested in justice…. We are a supranational
> organization.” said Assange (smh.com.au, 2010).
>
> Another liberating aspect of WikiLeaks is that it works on the basis and
> philosophy of open source principles. The idea of open source is best seen
> in the philosophy behind an operating system known as Linux, based on an
> African philosophy known as Ubuntu, a concept which bishop Desmond Tutu
> defines as a way of being and identity that is formed by community (as cited
> in Battle, 1997). Here, ancient African wisdom typically dismissed by those
> on the Western path of progress advocates collaboration and sharing. It now
> inspires and comes onto the global stage as a vehicle to revitalize the
> impulse for democracy.
>
> In the film, Neo needed a key-maker who could open certain critical doors.
> In a sense, in our world, the whistleblower is the Keymaker, the witness
> opening the doors to the source, weakening the actual structure of the
> powerbrokers and conspiracies. WikiLeaks is a sophisticated self-sustaining
> gate that allows the flow of light in and the flow of damning evidence out,
> which eventually dissolves the walls of illegitimate secrecy. When
> technology is used in this sense for sharing ideas, culture, and circulation
> of critical information and services, open source can serve as a spiritual
> source that hacks the Matrix.
>
>
>
>
> First and foremost, the battle for each person must be with themselves,
> freeing their own mind that is programmed by the Matrix. In the combat
> training scene, Morpheus asked Neo “How did I beat you?” Neo responded,
> “You’re too fast.” Morpheus asked again “Do you believe that my being
> stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? … What
> are you waiting for? You’re faster than this”. Finally Morpheus reminds Neo
> of a secret weapon within, “Don’t think you are, know you are...” A
> dehumanizing system teaches us how we are inwardly powerless and impotent,
> degraded into passive consumers and always driven by fear. Morpheus teaches
> Neo to undo the programming of the mind and reclaim ones own power to
> imagine a new future: “You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt and
> disbelief. Free your mind” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999).
>
>
> In light of US wars, sweatshops in Asia, the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid
> ships and the lack of accountability in the BP Gulf oil disaster, the
> question may arise, are these the actions of a just and civil society? And,
> if we can't trust the systems, where can we find hope?
>
> In the Matrix film, the Oracle prophesied the arrival of the One who would
> put an end to war and dismantle the Matrix. The Oracle’s prophecy I see
> being carried out by ordinary citizens. The work of WikiLeaks is shared and
> sustained by many volunteers. Assange, on a shoestring budget and with no
> permanent home works relentlessly, spending most of his time at airports
> moving to the next destination. In Iceland, after WikiLeaks exposure of the
> bankers rip-off of ordinary citizens, people stood up for themselves with
> the aid of a newly invigorated fourth estate. They are now working to draft
> a law that will create a safe haven for whistleblowers. It will protect
> anyone that exposes crimes or corruption by people in power all around the
> world (Cohen, 2010). It is not powerful leaders and politicians, but
> everyday people who I see as the heroes. Deeply rooted in local community
> values such as sharing and transparency, people everywhere have been pooling
> their collective efforts, becoming the One that arises from the ashes of the
> unsustainable and crumbling commercial globalization, where economic
> exploitation and national security trump human concerns to the detriment of
> all.
>
> I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid.
> You’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I
> didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell
> you how it’s going to begin…. Where we go from here is a choice that I leave
> up to you." (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999)
>
> WikiLeaks, the open source of truth in a Global Matrix, showed me a door.
> On the other side lies a truth about the forgotten heroes within. The key to
> open the door is inside each person and the life of this planet depends us
> awakening the hero who will bring society into a new era. WikiLeaks is an
> icon of our time, reaching for the door to tomorrow. It is up to each person
> to walk through it.
>
>
>
> Citations:
>
> Assange, J. (2010, May 16). Unpublished political speech presented at the
> Oslo freedom forum. Norway.
>
> Battle, M. J. (1997). Reconciliation: The Ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu.
> OH: The Pilgrim Press.
>
> Cohen, N. (2010, February 21). A Vision of Iceland as a Haven for
> Journalist. The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/business/media/22link.html
>
> Khatchadourian, R. (2010, June 7). No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for
> Total Transparency. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from
> http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/100607fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all#ixzz0pWdlAepe
>
> Smh.com.au. (2010, May 22). The Secret Life of Wikileaks Founder Julian
> Assange. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from
> http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-secret-life-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-20100521-w1um.html
>
> Wachowski, A. (Writer/Director), & Wachowski, L. (Writer/Director). (1999).
> The Matrix. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.
>
>
>
>
>
> nilankur
> 'frame voice. find vigor'
> http://www.cultureunplugged.com/filmedia/truthSeekers.php
>
>
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