Monday, November 29, 2010

WikiLeaks for Conscience


Every news source in America has been reporting recently on the emergence of government documents on WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing site compiling classified documents from the Afgan and Iraqi wars.  This weeks post on WikiLeaks represents the largest single “leak” of foreign affairs documents in the history of the modern world. 

The documents cover topics ranging from simple correspondence between foreign affairs officials to personal insults on the capability and habits of world leaders.  Most news sources have deemed the release an “embarrassment” to the foreign executives of the United States government.

Government officials claim that it is a disgrace to media and completely unhelpful.  Other leaders, like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claim the leak is a purposeful propaganda release by the United States government itself.

One thing is for sure: most people aren’t happy.  But does our happiness (or lack thereof) about an event tell us anything about the helpfulness of said event?

It is clear that the leaks have caused headaches for world leaders and newspeople alike.  Just looking at the amount of time and energy our own government officials have put into trying to minimize the damage will tell anyone that the leak has caused unproductive activity in those offices. 

And those offices are lashing back.  They are upholding the perspective that the leak of such documents puts American soldiers, international civilians and even diplomatic staff in danger. 

But maybe in our despair over embarrassment and leak of sensitive information, a lesson can be learned.  We remember old adages like; “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” And the fact that at any given time, somewhere, someone is listening.

It might do us all well to remember that no matter our position in life, community, or government, our words are powerful.  They affect our relationships and experiences in major ways.  In fact, some of the embarrassed diplomatic officials work everyday in the realm of international communication where they are aware that what they say and how they act could have powerful repercussions.  Maybe it is time that we are reminded of that; maybe it is time that we become more conscious of our messages, no matter who we think may or may not be listening.

For me, (and I hope for many others) this WikiLeak will serve as a wake-up call; not as a call to crack down on cyber-legislation, nor as a call to strengthen our cyber-security.  Rather, let this event be a call for all of us to keep track of what we are saying about those around us.  As we sift through the muck and pick-up the pieces of this detonated international relations bomb that is WikiLeaks, let’s make sure that what we are saying is helpful.