[Marxism] Assange is 'force-feeding truth to a world that has no stomach for it'

[David Thorstad]

This suggests how far American political culture has sunk. If the 
American Left has virtually vanished, it may reflect a wider problem: 
apathy, atomization, cynicism, pessimism about the future, despair... 
The release of the Pentagon Papers was met with plenty of outrage, but 
the response to the crimes revealed by WikiLeaks, and the criminality of 
the American political class/ruling class, is mostly "ho hum." The 
organizing structure to mobilize the outrage everyone should feel seems 
has been replaced by lightweight foolishness like Jon Stewart or MoveOn.
David
============

Guardian.co.uk

October 29, 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/oct/29/wikileaks-julian-assange


  *Assange is 'force-feeding truth to a world that has no stomach for it'*

Here's an interesting assessment of the Wikileaks 
<http://wikileaks.org/> phenomenon and its prime mover, **Julian Assange 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/julian-assange>**, that makes a lot of 
sense.

**Alex Moore**argues that Assange's countercultural mission is having a 
hard time finding a home in a world without counterculture 
<http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/33545/julian-assange-life-is-hard-in-a-world-without-hippies/>. 


http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/33545/julian-assange-life-is-hard-in-a-world-without-hippies/

He points up the differences between the way in which **Daniel 
Ellsberg's** leak of Vietnam war secrets, known as the Pentagon Papers 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers>, was greeted in 1971 and 
the response to Assange's recent web postings of secret information on 
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the 1970s - when hippies were alive and kicking - there was "a 
generation that valued integrity and the principle of truth." People 
were concerned about the substance of the leaks, the discovery that the 
US president had lied to the people.

By contrast, even though the Wikileaks 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/wikileaks> revelations tell of killings 
and torture in Iraq that are more shocking than those exposed by the 
Pentagon Papers, "all anyone seems to talk about is what a jerk the guy 
[Assange] is."

Ellsberg may have told the **New York Times 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/new-york-times>**, "I've been waiting 
40 years for someone to disclose information on a scale that might 
really make a difference", 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/24assange.html> but, writes 
Moore, "the world has changed."

In Ellsberg's time, Assange's revelations would have incited mass 
protests and indignant calls for accountability. The government was the 
target. Now, we seem to be unsurprised by the substance of the leaks and 
instead of protesting about that, we appear to accept that Assange is a 
fair target.

Moorewrites: "Assange's leaks do not inspire marches on Washington or 
palpable protests of any kind. **President Barack Obama 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/barack-obama>**, for all his campaign 
rhetoric of transparency and integrity, hasn't praised Assange as a 
champion of truth...

"Even foreign governments whose agendas aren't complicated by hiding 
military secrets are hesitant to take him in.

"Assange may have been born at the wrong time. It's as if he's 
force-feeding truth to a world that has no stomach for it."

//Source://death+taxes 
<http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/33545/julian-assange-life-is-hard-in-a-world-without-hippies/> 


http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/33545/julian-assange-life-is-hard-in-a-world-without-hippies/