First Amendment Gets Fresh Support in wake of WikiLeaks

With his release of the Wikileaks documents, Assange unknowingly renewed the fight against censorship and oppression

Although the initial reaction to the "document dump" seemed one of outrage, it wasn't long until the first cheers were heard around the world. From every corner of the earth congratulatory emails and tweets flooded the inboxes of First Amendment lovers everywhere.


It seems as if a fire of hope has been ignited underneath those who's rebel spirit had been silenced by the forces of oppression and control. Even people who formerly had little to do with the upholding of the First Amendment are pledging to do something in the name of freedom.

Since the controversial document release, how much rhetoric has come out about controlling the Internet, with hints that this couldn’t happen if the government could monitor the Internet. Look what the government has done, shut down the servers that Wikileaks used. What right do they have to do that?

What is to stop the government from shutting down your favorite website or blog because they say, show or do something that could “jeopardize” national security? They have been talking about “net” neutrality for a number of years, now the FCC is scheduled to rule on this on the 21st of December. Can they use this as another reason to gain control of the net?

If the government is allowed to shut down a website, blog, newspaper, radio station or whatever, in the name of national security, what’s next? When do Americans stop allowing the federal government to continue to water down our rights? The same rights that our Founding Fathers saw fit to ensure in the Constitution including the right to free speech and the right of freedom of the press.

Thank God for Assange's Rebel Spirit

Thank God Assange unknowingly renewed the fight against censorship and oppression. Now our oppressors have a fight on their hands. Even if this fight is fought on the Internet, VIA e-mails, e-petitions, blogs and social media, those of us involved now now have the resources to do so.

Already computer hackers have sent two of the world’s biggest credit card companies into meltdown in revenge for cutting off payments to the WikiLeaks website. The attack was launched by a shadowy international group called ‘Anonymous’ which said MasterCard and Visa had been targeted for freezing the account of the whistleblowing site.

Hackers also targeted online payment system PayPal, Amazon and a Swiss bank over the WikiLeaks row.

The Swedish government's website was brought down this morning after a fresh wave of cyber attacks together with former US vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.

A spokesman for Anonymous, calling himself ‘Coldblood’, a 22-year-old computer programmer based in London, said: "Websites that are bowing down to government pressure have become targets. As an organisation we have always taken a strong stance on censorship and freedom of expression on the Internet and come out against those who seek to destroy it by any means. We feel that WikiLeaks has become more than just about leaking of documents, it has become a war ground, the people versus the government. The idea is not to wipe them off but to give the companies a wake-up call."

In a further communique online, Anonymous warned: "We will fire at anything or anyone that tries to censor WikiLeaks, including multibillion-dollar companies such as PayPal."

The spokesman said that the group’s intention ‘was to be a force for chaotic good’ that it was leading a "peaceful campaign" and denied being a terrorist or vigilante organisation.

Anonymous went on to say The blog post continued: "Anonymous is doing what many successful campaigns have done in the past; a sit-in. It may be hard to comprehend, but a digital sit-in is our most effective method to show that all of us deserve freedom of speech and a free Internet."

"Our methods may appear, on the outside, to be cruel to those the entities that we are campaigning against, but remember by supporting censorship they are denying everyone a basic human right."

Although I do not condone or participate in their tactics, I do believe in their cause, I can't help but applaud their initiative and I'm sure I'm not the only one in awe of their daring.

Read my post, Wikileaks Reactions from the US and around the World, and you'll agree, there are literally millions of people who praise Assange, Manning and ‘Anonymous’.

Assange is already becoming a hero with a "Robin Hood" type image, with Manning is destined to become a martyr. And while ‘Anonymous’ is somewhat of a mysterious "Hole in the Wall" gang, only time will tell the legacy these hacktivists will leave behind.

Written By: Tom Retterbush