The Banality of Espionage These Days

Thanks to www.wikileaks.org, the right of the public to information can be further exercised. This website provides a combination of facts and intrigues. In a way, this venue encourages the public to be both citizens and spies in their own right, all for democracy and public accountability.

I have usually been an outsider to matters of national interest in the sense that I neither feel accountable nor affected in any way. This feeling of insulation from the current public affairs may be caused by law school, which is keeping me out of touch with the “real world” where my studies are supposed to apply. Or maybe I am just tired and bored of hearing the same kind of stories all over again.

However, come Wikileaks, I feel like I am on to and up to something. It makes me feel like I am an insider of some sort. It gives me a glimpse of the secrets that people or states usually highly value and keep from the public view. This transparency allows me to form a more informed opinion of my own.

Of course, Wikileaks, like Wikipedia, is not an authoritative reference. However, if what it contains would not be considered as gospels of truth, but rather as possible leads to a bigger picture of what the government or some people are up to, then I see no reason to discredit it.

Having said all these personal praises, I still think that divulging information vital to national interest and security should be a matter of perfect timing. In this case, I still hope that the contributors to Wikileaks would be more of concerned citizens than spies.

-Michelle P. M. Sabitsana